Collective behavior of chaotic oscillators with environmental coupling

•A system of chaotic oscillators coupled through a common environment is considered.•The environment has its own dynamics which in turn is affected by the oscillators.•Nontrivial collective behavior occurs for some values of coupling strength parameter.•Dynamical clustering is found for some values of the coupling parameter. We investigate the collective behavior of a system of chaotic Rössler oscillators indirectly coupled through a common environment that possesses its own dynamics and which in turn is modulated by the interaction with the oscillators. By varying the parameter representing the coupling strength between the oscillators and the environment, we find two collective states previously not reported in systems with environmental coupling: (i) nontrivial collective behavior, characterized by a periodic evolution of macroscopic variables coexisting with the local chaotic dynamics; and (ii) dynamical clustering, consisting of the formation of differentiated subsets of synchronized elements within the system. These states are relevant for many physical and biological systems where interactions with a dynamical environment are frequent.