  Synchronization of the dynamics of the individual entities that constitute
complex systems has been observed and systematically studied for more than four
decades now. An exotic behavior that has triggered scientists' curiosity for a
long time is the emergence of chimera states, long-lasting dynamical patterns
of coexistence of synchronous and asynchronous clusters of nodes in networked
systems. Although many features have been understood so far, many questions
remain unanswered. In particular, the stability of such states for finite
networks of oscillators and their high sensitivity to the initial conditions
have not yet been tackled exhaustively. Here we show that the formation of
clustered synchronization can follow a global symmetry-breaking mechanism,
which is also responsible for selecting the nature of the final patterns.
Through this novel method, we show that it is possible to reconcile the pattern
formation process with cluster synchronization, paving the way to a robust
mechanism for explaining the formation of stable chimera states in networks of
coupled dynamical systems.
