Let
$$Z=Re^{i\Theta} = \int_{-\pi}^\pi \int_{-\infty}^\infty e^{i\theta} \rho(\theta,\omega,t)g(\omega) d\theta d\omega\tag{1}$$
be the complex meanfield of the Kuramoto model in the thermodynamic limes, where $\rho$ is the oscillator density and $g$ the distribution of the frequency.
The continuity equation for oscillator density will be
$\frac{\partial \rho}{\partial \theta} + \frac{\partial }{\partial \theta} [\omega + KR\sin(\Theta - \theta)\rho]\tag{2}$
Make a Fourier series of $\rho$ in $\theta$
$$\rho(\theta,\omega,t)= \frac{g(\omega)}{2\pi} \sum_{l=-\infty}^{\infty} f_l(\omega,t) e^{il\theta}\qquad, f_l = f^*_{-l}, f_0=1$$
Assume that $f_l (\omega,t)$ is given by $f_l (\omega,t) = [\alpha (\omega,t)]]^n \qquad | \alpha(\omega,t)|\leq 1$
Now comes the part that I don't understand, the author writes:
Substituting this series expansion into Eqs. (1) and (2), we find the
remarkable result that this special form of f represents a
solution to Eqs. (1) and (2) if
$$\frac{\partial \alpha}{\partial t} + \frac{K}{2}[Z\alpha^2 -Z^* ] + i\omega \alpha=0$$
$$Z^*=\int_{-\infty}^\infty d\omega \alpha (\omega,t) g(\omega) $$