Spatiotemporal dynamics of an intrinsically chaotic field

In contrast to earlier nonlinear-dynamics investigations concerning the consequences of coupling limit-cycle oscillators, we propose the conceptionally simple extension of studying the interaction dynamics of chaotic subsystems. We illustrate this by simulating a ''toy system,'' the dynamics of a linear chain of damped-driven pendulums where the state of the isolated individual pendulum is chaotic. The harmonic coupling between these chaotic oscillators results in a very complex and rich spatiotemporal dynamics as a function of coupling strength and system size. This suggests that the extension to realistic representations of physical systems may provide a fruitful paradigm for studying dynamical disorder in the real world. © 1993 The American Physical Society.