One-dimensional asymmetrically coupled maps with defects

The authors study chaotic dynamical properties of an asymmetrically coupled one-dimensional chain of maps. They discuss the existence of coherent regions in terms of the presence of defects along the chain. They find that temporal chaos is instantaneously localized around one single defect and that the tangent vector jumps from one defect to another in an apparently random way. They measure quantitatively the localization properties by defining an entropy-like function in the space of tangent vectors.