42 Of Multistable and Metastable Modes

In the multistable mode of Coordination Dynamics (CD) two or more stable attractor states can be expressed for both the same and different values of control parameters. Which one is expressed depends on initial conditions. The multistable mode is characterized by relatively higher coupling strength and lower heterogeneity between coordinating elements than the monostable region. Multiple stable states are separated by unstable repellers, and threshold surpassing instabilities (bifurcations or phase transitions) are required to switch back and forth between them. Notice how taken together, all possible multistable and monostable modes only comprise about half of the dynamical landscape. The other half is occupied by the metastable mode, where heterogeneity between coordinating elements is relatively higher than in the other regimes and plays a crucial role.