Abstract

Arrays of oscillators driven out-of-equilibrium can support the coexistence between coherent and incoherent domains that have become known as chimera states. Recently, we have reported such an intriguing self-organization phenomenon in a chain of locally coupled Duffing oscillators. Based on this prototype model, we reveal a generalization of chimera states corresponding to the coexistence of incoherent domains. These freak states emerge through a bifurcation in which the coherent domain of an existing chimera state experiences an instability giving rise to another incoherent state. Using Lyapunov exponents and Fourier analysis allows us to characterize the dynamical nature of these extended solutions. Taking the Kuramoto order parameter, we were able to compute the bifurcation diagram of freak chimera states.