We study the mechanisms of frequency-synchronized cluster formation in coupled nonidentical oscillators and investigate the impact of presence of a leader on the cluster synchronization. We find that the introduction of a leader, a node having large parameter mismatch, induces a profound change in the cluster pattern as well as in the mechanism of the cluster formation. The emergence of a leader generates a transition from the driven to the mixed cluster state. The frequency mismatch turns out to be responsible for this transition. Additionally, for a chaotic evolution, the driven mechanism stands as a primary mechanism for the cluster formation, whereas for a periodic evolution the self-organization mechanism becomes equally responsible.

• Received 28 August 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.91.022901