Memory selection and information switching in oscillator networks with higher-order interactions

We study the dynamics of coupled oscillator networks with higher-order interactions and their ability to store information. In particular, the fixed points of these oscillator systems consist of two clusters of oscillators that become entrained at opposite phases, mapping easily to information more commonly represented by sequences of 0’s and 1’s. While 2N such fixed point states exist in a l system of N oscillators, we find that a relatively small fraction of these are stable, as chosen by the network topology. To understand the memory selection of such oscillator networks, we derive a stability criterion to identify precisely which states are stable, i.e., which pieces of information are supported by the network. We also investigate the process by which the system can switch between different stable states when a random perturbation is applied that may force the system into the basin of attraction of another stable state. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd