Dynamics of oscillator populations with disorder in the coupling phase shifts

Abstract: We study populations of oscillators, all-to-all coupled by means of quenched disordered phase shifts. While there is no traditional synchronization transition with a nonvanishing Kuramoto order parameter, the system demonstrates a specific order as the coupling strength increases. This order is characterized by partial phase locking, which is put into evidence by the introduced correlation order parameter and via frequency entrainment. Simulations with phase oscillators, Stuart-Landau oscillators, and chaotic Roessler oscillators demonstrate similar scaling of the correlation order parameter with the coupling and the system size and also similar behavior of the frequencies with maximal entrainment at some finite coupling.