We study synchronization of oscillators that are indirectly coupled through their interaction with an environment. We give criteria for the stability or instability of a synchronized oscillation. Using these criteria we investigate synchronization of systems of oscillators which are weakly coupled, in the sense that the influence of the oscillators on the environment is weak. We prove that arbitrarily weak coupling will synchronize the oscillators, provided that this coupling is of the 'right' sign. We illustrate our general results by applications to a model of coupled GnRH neuron oscillators proposed by Khadra and Li, and to indirectly weakly-coupled lambda-omega oscillators
A system of two coupled ensembles of phase oscillators can follow different routes to inter-ensemble synchronization. Following a short report of our preliminary results [Phys. Rev. E. {\bf 78}, 025201(R) (2008)], we present a more detailed study of the effects of coupling, noise and phase asymmetries in coupled phase oscillator ensembles. We identify five distinct synchronization regions, and new routes to synchronization that are characteristic of the coupling asymmetry. We show that noise asymmetry induces effects similar to that of coupling asymmetry when the latter is absent. We also find…
We study a large population of globally coupled phase oscillators subject to common white Gaussian noise and find analytically that the critical coupling strength between oscillators for synchronization transition decreases with an increase in the intensity of common noise. Thus, common noise promotes the onset of synchronization. Our prediction is confirmed by numerical simulations of the phase oscillators as well as of limit-cycle oscillators.
We study under which conditions systems of coupled oscillators on complex networks display remote synchronization, a situation where pairs of vertices, not necessarily physically linked, but with the same network symmetry, are synchronized.
We propose a method for detecting the presence of synchronization of self-sustained oscillator by external driving with linearly varying frequency. The method is based on a continuous wavelet transform of the signals of self-sustained oscillator and external force and allows one to distinguish the case of true synchronization from the case of spurious synchronization caused by linear mixing of the signals. We apply the method to driven van der Pol oscillator and to experimental data of human heart rate variability and respiration.
We study synchronization properties of general uncoupled limit-cycle oscillators driven by common and independent Gaussian white noises. Using phase reduction and averaging methods, we analytically derive the stationary distribution of the phase difference between oscillators for weak noise intensity. We demonstrate that in addition to synchronization, clustering, or more generally coherence, always results from arbitrary initial conditions, irrespective of the details of the oscillators.
Nonlinear oscillators can mutually synchronize when they are driven by common external impulses. Two important scenarios are (i) synchronization resulting from phase locking of each oscillator to regular periodic impulses and (ii) noise-induced synchronization caused by Poisson random impulses, but their difference has not been fully quantified. Here we analyze a pair of uncoupled oscillators subject to common random impulses with gamma-distributed intervals, which can be smoothly interpolated between regular periodic and random Poisson impulses. Their dynamics are charac- terized by phase dis…
This paper presents new methods and results on almost global synchronization of coupled Hopf nonlinear oscillators, which are commonly used as the dynamic model of engineered central pattern generators (CPGs). On balanced graphs, any positive coupling gain is proven to induce almost global asymptotic synchronization, and a threshold value for truly global exponential synchronization is also computed. Furthermore, a hierarchical connection between coupled Hopf oscillators and Kuramoto oscillators is identified. Finally, a new result on the synchronization of Kuramoto oscillators with arbitrary …
We investigate the synchronization phenomenon between two Spin-transfer Torque Nano-Oscillators (STNOs) of different frequencies in two pillar systems under vortex configuration detunings or driving frequencies. The oscillators' mutual synchronization occurs through magnetic dipolar interaction. Our micromagnetic simulations show that an amplitude fluctuation referred to as $Γ_p$ has a significant impact on determining the synchronization frequency. The evolution of frequency and amplitude fluctuation rate in two different oscillator sizes versus external perpendicular field are compared and d…
We make a short review about the synchronization in coupled phase oscillator models. Next, we study the common-noise-induced synchronization among active rotators. At an intermediate noise strength, the noise-induced synchronization takes place most effectively, which is analogous to the stochastic resonance. Finally, we study the synchronization of coupled phase oscillators with nonvariational interaction on scale-free networks. We find a sharp transition and a weak hysteresis in the nonvariational systems. The sharp transition is found also in the mean-field approximation.
We study the synchronization of oscillators with inertias and phase shifts, namely the second-order Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model. Using the self-consistent method, we find that the effect of inertia is the introduction of effective phase shifts. The discontinuous synchronization transition of the Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model changes to a continuous one when the value of inertia is small. In addition, we find a new synchronization process, in which with increasing coupling strength the system reaches an oscillating state instead of complete synchronization due to the cross-effect of phase shifts and in…
A rationale is provided for the emergence of synchronization in a system of coupled oscillators in a stick-slip motion. The single oscillator has a limit cycle in a region of the state space for each parameter set beyond the supercritical Hopf bifurcation. The two-oscillator system that has similar weakly coupled oscillators exhibits synchronization in a parameter range. The synchronization has an anti-phase nature for an identical pair. However, it tends to be more in-phase for a non-identical pair with a rather weak coupling. A system of three identical oscillators (1, 2, and 3) coupled in a…
We study the phase synchronization between collective rhythms of fully locked oscillator groups. For weakly interacting groups of two oscillators with global sinusoidal coupling, we analytically derive the collective phase coupling function, which determines the dynamics of the collective phase difference between the groups. We demonstrate that the groups can exhibit anti-phase collective synchronization in spite of microscopic in-phase external coupling and vice versa.
We analyze synchronization between two interacting populations of different phase oscillators. For the important case of asymmetric coupling functions, we find a much richer dynamical behavior compared to that of symmetrically coupled populations of identical oscillators (Okuda and Kuramoto, 1991). It includes three types of bistabilities, higher order entrainment and the existence of states with unusual stability properties. All possible routes to synchronization of the populations are presented and some stability boundaries are obtained analytically.
A scenario has recently been reported in which in order to stabilize complete synchronization of an oscillator network---a symmetric state---the symmetry of the system itself has to be broken by making the oscillators nonidentical. But how often does such behavior---which we term asymmetry-induced synchronization (AISync)---occur in oscillator networks? Here we present the first general scheme for constructing AISync systems and demonstrate that this behavior is the norm rather than the exception in a wide class of physical systems that can be seen as multilayer networks. Since a symmetric net…
We study synchronization of Kuramoto oscillators in strongly modular networks in which the structure of the network inside each community is averaged. We find that the dynamics of the interacting communities can be described as an ensemble of coupled planar oscillators. In the limit of a large number of communities, we find a low dimensional description of the level of synchronization between the communities. In this limit, we describe bifurcations between incoherence, local synchrony, and global synchrony. We compare the predictions of this simplified model with simulations of heterogeneous n…
We report enhancing of complete synchronization in identical chaotic oscillators when their interaction is mediated by a mismatched oscillator. The identical oscillators now interact indirectly through the intermediate relay oscillator. The induced heterogeneity in the intermediate oscillator plays a constructive role in reducing the critical coupling for a transition to complete synchronization. A common lag synchronization emerges between the mismatched relay oscillator and its neighboring identical oscillators that leads to this enhancing effect. We present examples of one-dimensional open …
We propose a concept for reservoir computing on oscillators using the high-order synchronization effect. The reservoir output is presented in the form of oscillator synchronization metrics: fractional high-order synchronization value and synchronization efficiency, expressed as a percentage. Using two coupled relaxation oscillators built on VO2 switches, we created an oscillator reservoir that allows simulating the XOR operation. The reservoir can operate as with static input data (power currents, coupling forces), as with dynamic data in the form of spike sequences. Having a small number of o…
We study dynamics of a serial array of spin-torque-oscillators with a parallel inductor-capacitor-resistor (LCR) load. In a large range of parameters the fully synchronous regime, where all the oscillators have the same state and the output field is maximal, is shown to be stable. However, not always such a robust complete synchronization develops from the random initial state, in many cases nontrivial clustering is observed, with a partial synchronization resulting in a quasiperiodic or chaotic mean field dynamics.
Nonlocally coupled oscillators with a phase lag self-organize into various patterns such as global synchronization, the twisted state, and the chimera state. In this paper, we consider nonlocally coupled oscillators that move on a ring by randomly exchanging their positions with the neighbors, and investigate the combined effects of phase lag and mobility on the collective phase dynamics. Spanning the whole range of phase lag and mobility, we show that mobility promotes synchronization for an attractive coupling, while it destroys coherence for a repulsive coupling. The transition behaviors ar…
Community structure and interaction delays are common features of ensembles of network coupled oscillators, but their combined effect on the emergence of synchronization has not been studied in detail. We study the transitions between macroscopic states in coupled oscillator systems with community structure and time delays. We show that the combination of these two properties gives rise to non-monotonic transitions, whereby increasing the global coupling strength can both inhibit and promote synchronization, yielding both desynchronization and synchronization transitions. For relatively wide p…
Synchronizing phase frustrated Kuramoto oscillators, a challenge that has found applications from neuronal networks to the power grid, is an eluding problem, as even small phase-lags cause the oscillators to avoid synchronization. Here we show, constructively, how to strategically select the optimal frequency set, capturing the natural frequencies of all oscillators, for a given network and phase-lags, that will ensure perfect synchronization. We find that high levels of synchronization are sustained in the vicinity of the optimal set, allowing for some level of deviation in the frequencies wi…
We study the frequency-synchronization of randomly coupled oscillators. By analyzing the continuum limit, we obtain the sufficient condition for the mean-field type synchronization. We especially find that the critical coupling constant $K$ becomes 0 in the random scale free network, $P(k)\propto k^{-γ}$, if $2 < γ\le 3$. Numerical simulations in finite networks are consistent with these analysis.
We numerically study the synchronization of an identical population of Kuramoto-Sakaguchi phase oscillators in Watts-Strogatz networks. We find that, unlike random networks, phase-shift could enhance the synchronization in small-world networks. We also observe abrupt phase transition with hysteresis at some values of phase shifts in small-world networks, signs of an explosive phase transition. Moreover, we report the emergence of Chimera states at some values of phase-shift close to the transition points, which consist of spatially coexisting synchronized and desynchronized domains.
Systems of dynamical elements exhibiting spontaneous rhythms are found in various fields of science and engineering, including physics, chemistry, biology, physiology, and mechanical and electrical engineering. Such dynamical elements are often modeled as nonlinear limit-cycle oscillators. In this article, we briefly review phase reduction theory, which is a simple and powerful method for analyzing the synchronization properties of limit-cycle oscillators exhibiting rhythmic dynamics. Through phase reduction theory, we can systematically simplify the nonlinear multi-dimensional differential eq…
We study synchronization in large populations of coupled phase oscillators with time-delays, higher order interactions. With each of these effects individually giving rise to bistabiltiy between incoherence and synchronization via a subcriticality at the onset of synchronization and the development of a saddle node, we find that their combination yields another mechanism behind bistability, where supercriticality at onset may be maintained and instead the formation of two saddle nodes creates tiered synchronization, i.e., bistability between a weakly synchronized state and a strongly synchroni…
We consider a canonical ensemble of synchronization-optimized networks of identical oscillators under external noise. By performing a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation using the Kirchhoff index, i.e., the sum of the inverse eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix (as a graph Hamiltonian of the network), we construct more than 1,000 different synchronization-optimized networks. We then show that the transition from star to core-periphery structure depends on the connectivity of the network, and is characterized by the node degree variance of the synchronization-optimized ensemble. We find …
The concept of "remote synchronization" (RS) was introduced in [Phys. Rev. E 85, 026208 (2012)], where synchronization in a star network of Stuart-Landau oscillators was investigated. In the RS regime therein described, the central hub served as a transmitter of information between peripheral nodes, while maintaining independent dynamics that were asynchronous with the rest of the network. One of the key conclusions of that paper was that RS cannot occur in pure phase-oscillator networks. Here, we show that the RS regime can exist in networks of Kuramoto oscillators, and that hub nodes can act…
In this letter, we present an elegant method to build and maintain an anti-phase configuration of two nonlinear oscillators with different natural frequencies and dynamics described by the sinusoidal phase-reduced model. The anti-phase synchronization is achieved using a common input that couples the oscillators and consists of a sequence of square pulses of appropriate amplitude and duration. This example provides a proof of principle that open-loop control can be used to create desired synchronization patterns for nonlinear oscillators, when feedback is expensive or impossible to obtain.
We study the synchronization of Kuramoto oscillators on networks where only a fraction of them is subjected to a periodic external force. When all oscillators receive the external drive the system always synchronize with the periodic force if its intensity is sufficiently large. Our goal is to understand the conditions for global synchronization as a function of the fraction of nodes being forced and how these conditions depend on network topology, strength of internal couplings and intensity of external forcing. Numerical simulations show that the force required to synchronize the network wit…
Non-linear oscillator networks have revealed properties as the remote synchronization and the quorum sensing. The remote synchronization, defined as the synchronization of nodes not directly connected by any sequence of synchronized nodes, was found firstly in networks of amplitude oscillators and recently in bipartite delayed networks of phase oscillators. The quorum sensing, a biological information scheme discovered in cell aggregates, has been investigated in amplitude oscillators coupled by a common medium. Implications of such findings are important in technology and biology. We show bot…
We consider optimization of phase response curves for stochastic synchronization of non-interacting limit-cycle oscillators by common Poisson impulsive signals. The optimal functional shape for sufficiently weak signals is sinusoidal, but can differ for stronger signals. By solving the Euler-Lagrange equation associated with the minimization of the Lyapunov exponent characterizing synchronization efficiency, the optimal phase response curve is obtained. We show that the optimal shape mutates from a sinusoid to a sawtooth as the constraint on its squared amplitude is varied.
After decades of study, there are only two known mechanisms to induce global synchronization in a population of oscillators: deterministic coupling and common forcing. The inclusion of independent random forcing in these models typically serves to drive disorder, increasing the stability of the incoherent state. Here we show that the reverse is also possible. We propose and analyse a simple model of purely noise coupled oscillators whose linear response around incoherence is identical to that of the paradigmatic Kuramoto model, but which exhibits binary phase locking instead of full coherence.…
We study, both analytically and numerically, the dynamics of mechanical oscillators kept in motion by a feedback force, which is generated electronically from a signal produced by the oscillators themselves. This kind of self-sustained systems may become standard in the design of frequency-control devices at microscopic scales. Our analysis is thus focused on their synchronization properties under the action of external forces, and on the joint dynamics of two to many coupled oscillators. Existence and stability of synchronized motion are assessed in terms of the mechanical properties of indiv…
The theoretical description of synchronization phenomena often relies on coupled units of continuous time noisy Markov chains with a small number of states in each unit. It is frequently assumed, either explicitly or implicitly, that coupled discrete-state noisy Markov units can be used to model mathematically more complex coupled noisy continuous phase oscillators. In this work we explore conditions that justify this assumption by coarse-graining continuous phase units. In particular, we determine the minimum number of states necessary to justify this correspondence for Kuramoto-like oscillat…
The collective behavior in a population of globally coupled oscillators with randomly distributed frequencies is studied when the natural frequency distribution does not possess an even symmetry with respect to the average natural frequency of oscillators. We study the special case of absence of symmetry induced by a group of scaling transformations of the continuous distribution of frequencies. When coupling between oscillators is increased beyond a critical threshold favoring spontaneous synchronization, we found that the variation in the velocity of the traveling wave depends on the extent …
We formulate a theory for the collective phase description of globally coupled noisy limit-cycle oscillators exhibiting macroscopic rhythms. Collective phase equations describing such macroscopic rhythms are derived by means of a two-step phase reduction. The collective phase sensitivity and collective phase coupling functions, which quantitatively characterize the macroscopic rhythms, are illustrated using three representative models of limit-cycle oscillators. As an important result of the theory, we demonstrate noise-induced anti-phase synchronization between macroscopic rhythms by direct n…
The synchronization transition of correlated ensembles of coupled Kuramoto oscillators on sparse random networks is investigated. Extensive numerical simulations show that correlations between the native frequencies of adjacent oscillators on the network systematically shift the critical point as well as the critical exponents characterizing the transition. Negative correlations imply an onset of synchronization for smaller coupling, whereas positive correlations shift the critical coupling towards larger interaction strengths. For negatively correlated oscillators the transition still exhibit…
Experimental study on noise-induced synchronization of crystal oscillators is presented. Two types of circuits were constructed: one consists of two Pierce oscillators that were isolated from each other and received a common noise input, while the other is based on a single Pierce oscillator that received a same sequence of noise signal repeatedly. Due to frequency detuning between the two Pierce oscillators, the first circuit showed no clear sign of noise-induced synchronization. The second circuit, on the other hand, generated coherent waveforms between different trials of the same noise inj…
It has been found that contrarian oscillators usually take a negative role in the collective behaviors formed by conformist oscillators. However, experiments revealed that it is also possible to achieve a strong coherence even when there are contrarians in the system such as neuron networks with both excitable and inhibitory neurons. To understand the underlying mechanism of this abnormal phenomenon, we here consider a complex network of coupled Kuramoto oscillators with mixed positive and negative couplings and present an efficient approach, i.e. tit-for-tat strategy, to suppress the negative…
Phase synchronization between collective oscillations exhibited by two weakly interacting groups of non-identical phase oscillators with internal and external global sinusoidal coupling of the groups is analyzed theoretically. Coupled amplitude equations describing the collective oscillations of the oscillator groups are obtained by using the Ott-Antonsen ansatz, and then coupled phase equations for the collective oscillations are derived by phase reduction of the amplitude equations. The collective phase coupling function, which determines the dynamics of macroscopic phase differences between…
We analyze the emergence of synchronization in a population of moving integrate-and-fire oscillators. Oscillators, while moving on a plane, interact with their nearest neighbor upon firing time. We discover a non-monotonic dependence of the synchronization time on the velocity of the agents. Moreover, we find that mechanisms that drive synchronization are different for different dynamical regimes. We report the extreme situation where an interplay between the time-scales involved in the dynamical processes completely inhibit the achievement of a coherent state. We also provide estimators for t…
It is shown that globally-coupled oscillators with pulse interaction can synchronize under broader conditions than widely believed from a theorem of Mirollo \& Strogatz \cite{MirolloII}. This behavior is stable against frozen disorder. Beside the relevance to biology, it is argued that synchronization in relaxation oscillator models is related to Self-Organized Criticality in Stick-Slip-like models.
In this paper, we investigate synchronization of coupled second-order linear harmonic oscillators with random noises and time delays. The interaction topology is modeled by a weighted directed graph and the weights are perturbed by white noise. On the basis of stability theory of stochastic differential delay equations, algebraic graph theory and matrix theory, we show that the coupled harmonic oscillators can be synchronized almost surely with perturbation and time delays. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate our theoretical results.
We report erosion of synchronization in networks of coupled phase oscillators, a phenomenon where perfect phase synchronization is unattainable in steady-state, even in the limit of infinite coupling. An analysis reveals that the total erosion is separable into the product of terms characterizing coupling frustration and structural heterogeneity, both of which amplify erosion. The latter, however, can differ significantly from degree heterogeneity. Finally, we show that erosion is marked by the reorganization of oscillators according to their node degrees rather than their natural frequencies.
In this technical note, we propose a practicable quantized sampled velocity data coupling protocol for synchronization of a set of harmonic oscillators. The coupling protocol is designed in a quantized way via interconnecting the velocities encoded by a uniform quantizer with a zooming parameter in either a fixed or an adjustable form over a directed communication network. We establish sufficient conditions for the networked harmonic oscillators to converge to a bounded neighborhood of the synchronized orbits with a fixed zooming parameter. We ensure the oscillators to achieve synchronization …
We implement nonlinear anharmonic interaction in the coupled van der Pol oscillators to investigate the quantum synchronization behaviour of the systems. We study the quantum synchronization in two oscillator models, coupled quantum van der Pol oscillators and anharmonic self-oscillators. We demonstrate that the considered systems exhibit a high-order synchronization through coupling in both classical and quantum domains. We show that due to the anharmonicity of the nonlinear interaction between the oscillators the system exhibits phonon blockade in the phase locking regime which is a pure non…
A mutual synchronization of spin-torque oscillators coupled through current injection is studied theoretically. Models of electrical coupling in parallel and series circuits are proposed. Solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, excitation of in-phase or antiphase synchronization, depending on the ways the oscillators are connected, is found. It is also found from both analytical and numerical calculations that the current-frequency relations for both parallel and series circuits are the same as that for a single spin-torque oscillator.
We introduce an adaptation algorithm by which an ensemble of coupled oscillators with attractive and repulsive interactions is induced to adopt a prescribed synchronized state. While the performance of adaptation is controlled by measuring a macroscopic quantity, which characterizes the achieved degree of synchronization, adaptive changes are introduced at the microscopic level of the interaction network, by modifying the configuration of repulsive interactions. This scheme emulates the distinct levels of selection and mutation in biological evolution and learning.
Spin torque oscillators placed onto a nonmagnetic heavy metal show synchronized auto-oscillations due to the coupling originating from spin Hall magnetoresistance effect. Here, we study a system having two spin torque oscillators under the effect of the spin Hall torque, and show that switching the external current direction enables us to control the phase difference of the synchronization between in-phase and antiphase.
Cortical regions without direct neuronal connections have been observed to exhibit synchronized dynamics. A recent empirical study has further revealed that such regions that share more common neighbors are more likely to behave coherently. To analytically investigate the underlying mechanisms, we consider that a set of n oscillators, which have no direct connections, are linked through m intermediate oscillators (called mediators), forming a complete bipartite network structure. Modeling the oscillators by the Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model, we rigorously prove that mediated remote synchronization,…
