We show that long chaotic transients dominate the dynamics of randomly diluted networks of pulse-coupled oscillators. This contrasts with the rapid convergence towards limit cycle attractors found in networks of globally coupled units. The lengths of the transients strongly depend on the network connectivity and vary by several orders of magnitude, with maximum transient lengths at intermediate connectivities. The dynamics of the transients exhibit a novel form of robust synchronization. An approximation to the largest Lyapunov exponent characterizing the chaotic nature of the transient dynamics is calculated analytically.

• Received 5 January 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.244103