Conservative dynamics in phase oscillator networks

Abstract The interaction between phase oscillators is conservative if the phase volume is conserved throughout the dynamics. We derive a general condition, based on the notion of a pair-Hamiltonian, for the pairwise couplings to be conservative. The conservative networks with Winfree-type and Kuramoto–Daido-type couplings are also discussed. It is demonstrated that although, in contradistinction to genuine Hamiltonian dynamics, there is no exact pairwise symmetry of the Lyapunov exponents, the Lyapunov spectrum for a large network is nearly symmetric. The concept is also generalized to triplet and quadruplet couplings.