Chimera classification of the synchronized production domains in the cooperative mean-field Lotka–Volterra agent-based model

Determine whether the two synchronized domains that emerge in the cooperative mean-field-coupled generalized Lotka–Volterra agent-based model—where agents with stochastic energy depots produce goods x and y, interact via a mean field X(t) in the x-production term with cooperation coefficient b_x>0, and are internally coupled with c_x>0 and c_y<0—should be classified as Chimera states according to established definitions of chimera phenomena.

Background

The paper introduces an agent-based model in which each agent stores energy and invests it into producing two goods, x (tradeable) and y (private), governed by coupled generalized Lotka–Volterra dynamics. Agents are coupled non-locally through a mean field X(t) in the x-equation. The model allows either competition (b_x<0) or cooperation (b_x>0) in x-production, with c_x>0 and c_y<0 capturing intra-agent coupling between x and y.

In the cooperative regime with b_x>0 (and even without noise), simulations show persistent oscillations and the emergence of two synchronized groups with strong within-group phase coherence and weak cross-group coherence. The authors note similarities to chimera-like phenomena but do not observe the classic coexistence of synchronized and desynchronized domains, raising the question of whether these synchronized domains should be considered Chimera states in the sense of the chimera literature. They explicitly defer a systematic classification to future work.