Network reorganization driven by temporal interdependence of its elements

We employ an adaptive parameter control technique based on detection of phase/lag synchrony between the elements of the system to dynamically modify the structure of a network of nonidentical, coupled Rossler oscillators. Two processes are simulated: adaptation, under which the initially different properties of the units converge, and rewiring, in which clusters of interconnected elements are formed based on the temporal correlations. We show how those processes lead to different network structures and investigate their optimal characteristics from the point of view of resulting network properties.     

Synchronization and structure in an adaptive oscillator network

We analyze the interplay of synchronization and structure evolution in an evolving network of phase oscillators. An initially random network is adaptively rewired according to the dynamical coherence of the oscillators, in order to enhance their mutual synchronization. We show that the evolving network reaches a small-world structure. Its clustering coefficient attains a maximum for an intermediate intensity of the coupling between oscillators, where a rich diversity of synchronized oscillator groups is observed. In the stationary state, these synchronized groups are directly associated with network clusters.     

Frequency clustering of coupled phase oscillators on small-world networks

We analyze the phenomenon of frequency clustering in a system of coupled phase oscillators. The oscillators, which in the absence of coupling have uniformly distributed natural frequencies, are coupled through a small-world network, built according to the Watts-Strogatz model. We study the time evolution and determine variations in the transient times depending on the disorder of the network and on the coupling strength. We investigate the effects of fluctuations in the average frequencies, and discuss the definition of the threshold for synchronization. We characterize the structure of clusters and the distribution of cluster sizes in the synchronization transition, and define suitable order parameters to describe the aggregation of the oscillators as the network disorder and the coupling strength change. The non-monotonic behavior observed in some order parameters is related to fluctuations in the mean frequencies.     

Phase-locking and critical phenomena in lattices of coupled nonlinear oscillators with random intrinsic frequencies

We study phase-locking in a network of coupled nonlinear oscillators with local interactions and random intrinsic frequencies. The oscillators are located at the vertices of a graph and interact along the edges. They are coupled by sinusoidal functions of the phase differences across the edges, and their intrinsic frequencies are independent and identically distributed with finite mean and variance.We derive an exact expression for the probability of phase-locking in a linear chain of such oscillators and prove that this probability tends to zero as the number of oscillators grows without bound. However, if the coupling strength increases as the square root of the number of oscillators, the probability of phase-locking tends to a limiting distribution, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution. This latter result is obtained by showing that the phase-locking problem is equivalent to a discretization of pinned Brownian motion.The results on chains of oscillators are extended to more general graphs. In particular, for a hypercubic lattice of any dimension, the probability of phase-locking tends to zero exponentially fast as the number of oscillators grows without bound. We also consider a less stringent type of synchronization, characterized by large clusters of oscillators mutually entrained at the same average frequency. It is shown that if such clusters exist, they necessarily have a sponge-like geometry.     

Clustering and Synchronization in an Array of Repulsively Coupled Phase Oscillators

Clustering and synchronization in an array of repulsively coupled phase oscillators are numerically investigated. It is found that oscillators are divided into several clusters according to the symmetry in the structure.Synchronization occurs between oscillators in each cluster, while those oscillators belonging to different clusters remain asynchronous. Such synchronization may collapse for all clusters when the dynamics of only one oscillator is altered properly. The synchronous state may return back after a short period of transient process. This is determined by the strength of the oscillator altered. Its application in the communication of one-to-several is suggested.     

Clustering and Synchronization in an Array of Repulsively Coupled Phase Oscillators

Clustering and synchronization in an array of repulsively coupled phase oscillators are numerically investigated. It is found that oscillators are divided into several clusters according to the symmetry in the structure. Synchronization occurs between oscillators in each cluster, while those oscillators belonging to different clusters remain asynchronous. Such synchronization may collapse for all clusters when the dynamics of only one oscillator is altered properly. The synchronous state may return back after a short period of transient process. This is determined by the strength of the oscillator altered. Its application in the communication of one-to-several is suggested.     

Spatial disorder and pattern formation in lattices of coupled bistable elements

The spatio-temporal dynamics of discrete lattices of coupled bistable elements is considered. It is shown that both regular and chaotic spatial field distributions can be realized depending on parameter values and initial conditions. For illustration, we provide results for two lattice systems: the FitzHugh-Nagumo model and a network of coupled bistable oscillators. For the latter we also prove the existence of phase clusters, with phase locking of elements in each cluster.     

Clusters and switchers in globally coupled photochemical oscillators

We experimentally investigate the transition to synchronization in a population of photochemical oscillators with weak global coupling. Above a critical coupling strength the oscillators join a one-phase group or two-phase clusters. The number of oscillators in each cluster depends on the initial phase distribution, and irregular switching of oscillators between clusters is observed. The fully synchronized state emerges above a second critical coupling strength. In agreement with earlier theory, the experiments demonstrate the importance of population heterogeneity in cluster multistability.     

Forced Synchronization of Electroconvective Roll Oscillations in Nematic Liquid Crystals

The forced phase locking in a system of the oscillating electroconvective rolls that form in a nematic liquid crystal layer in a dc electric field is studied. As a result of the action of an additive ac electric field with a small amplitude, the system of oscillators is found to be divided into clusters, where oscillations are fully phase locked. The electroconvective rolls in neighboring clusters oscillate in antiphase and the clusters are separated by Ising walls. The phase locking is shown to be maximal at the forcing frequency that is close to the double frequency of the natural oscillations of rolls. A model is proposed to describe spatially distributed phase oscillators, and it takes into account the symmetries of a system of electroconvective rolls and external forcing. The results of numerical simulations agree well with the experimental data.     

The order-oscillation induced by negative feedback in the adaptive scheme

The synchronization process of coupled phase oscillators is further investigated in this Letter. Coupled with a new adaptive scheme, the network can be stable in a middle state which oscillates between the synchronization state and the asynchronous state, namely there exists a third steady state. We call this novel phenomenon ‘order-oscillation’. Related results and detailed analysis are given at last.     

Phase clustering in globally coupled photochemical oscillators

We experimentally investigate the formation of clusters in a population of globally coupled photochemical oscillators. The system consists of catalytic micro-particles in Belousov-Zhabotinsky solution and the coupling exploits the excitatory properties of light; an increase in the light intensity leads to excitation (“firing") of an oscillator. As the coupling strength is increased, a transition occurs from incoherence to clustering, whereby the oscillators split into synchronised groups, to complete synchronisation. Multistability is observed between a one-phase cluster (fully synchronised group) and two-phase clusters (two groups with the same frequency but different phases). The results are reproduced in simulations and we demonstrate that the heterogeneity of the population as well as the relaxational nature of the oscillators is important in the observation of clusters. We also examine the exploitation of the phase model for the prediction of clusters in experiments.     

Rich-club network topology to minimize synchronization cost due to phase difference among frequency-synchronized oscillators

As exemplified by power grids and large-scale brain networks, some functions of networks consisting of phase oscillators rely on not only frequency synchronization, but also phase synchronization among the oscillators. Nevertheless, even after the oscillators reach frequency-synchronized status, the phase synchronization is not always accomplished because the phase difference among the oscillators is often trapped at non-zero constant values. Such phase difference potentially results in inefficient transfer of power or information among the oscillators, and avoids proper and efficient functioning of the networks. In the present study, we newly define synchronization cost by using the phase difference among the frequency-synchronized oscillators, and investigate the optimal network structure with the minimum synchronization cost through rewiring-based optimization. By using the Kuramoto model, we demonstrate that the cost is minimized in a network with a rich-club topology, which comprises the densely-connected center nodes and low-degree peripheral nodes connecting with the center module. We also show that the network topology is characterized by its bimodal degree distribution, which is quantified by Wolfson’s polarization index.     

Clustering zones in the turbulent phase of a system of globally coupled chaotic maps

The paper develops an approach to investigate the clustering phenomenon in the system of globally coupled chaotic maps first introduced by Kaneko in 1989. We obtain a relation between the transverse and longitudinal multipliers of the periodic clusters and prove the stability of these clusters for the case of symmetric, equally populated distributions between subclusters. Stable clusters emanate from the periodic windows of the logistic map and extend far into the turbulent phase. By numerical simulations we estimate a total basin volume of low-periodic clusters issued from the period-3 window and analyze the basin structure. The complement to the basin volume is ascribed to chaotic, very asymmetric high-dimensional clusters that are characterized by the presence of one or more leading clusters, accumulating about half of the oscillators while all the remaining oscillators do not cluster at all.     

Inferring phase equations from multivariate time series

An approach is presented for extracting phase equations from multivariate time series data recorded from a network of weakly coupled limit cycle oscillators. Our aim is to estimate important properties of the phase equations including natural frequencies and interaction functions between the oscillators. Our approach requires the measurement of an experimental observable of the oscillators; in contrast with previous methods it does not require measurements in isolated single or two-oscillator setups. This noninvasive technique can be advantageous in biological systems, where extraction of few oscillators may be a difficult task. The method is most efficient when data are taken from the nonsynchronized regime. Applicability to experimental systems is demonstrated by using a network of electrochemical oscillators; the obtained phase model is utilized to predict the synchronization diagram of the system.     

Mechanism of desynchronization in the finite-dimensional Kuramoto model

We study how a decrease of the coupling strength causes a desynchronization in the Kuramoto model of N globally coupled phase oscillators. We show that, if the natural frequencies are distributed uniformly or close to that, the synchronized state can robustly split into any number of phase clusters with different average frequencies, even culminating in complete desynchronization. In the simplest case of N=3 phase oscillators, the course of the splitting is controlled by a Cherry flow. The general N-dimensional desynchronization mechanism is numerically illustrated for N=5.     

Synchronization interfaces and overlapping communities in complex networks

We show that a complex network of phase oscillators may display interfaces between domains (clusters) of synchronized oscillations. The emergence and dynamics of these interfaces are studied for graphs composed of either dynamical domains (influenced by different forcing processes), or structural domains (modular networks). The obtained results allow us to give a functional definition of overlapping structures in modular networks, and suggest a practical method able to give information on overlapping clusters in both artificially constructed and real world modular networks.     

Synchronization in networks of limit cycle oscillators

We investigate the synchronization behaviour of three different networks of nonlinearly coupled oscillators. Each network consists of several clusters of oscillators, and the clusters themselves consist of any number of oscillators. In each cluster the eigenfrequencies scatter around the cluster frequency (mean frequency). The coupling strength varies in each cluster, too. We analyze the synchronized states by means of the center manifold theorem. This enables us to calculate these states explicitly, and to prove their stability. Moreover we are able to determine frequency shifts caused by different coupling mechanisms. In a number of cases we calculate the synchronisation threshold explicitely. Numerical simulations illustrate our analytical results. In one of the three networks we have additionally analyzed a single cluster consisting of infinitely many oscillators, that is an oscillatory field. Again, the center manifold theorem enabled us to calculate the synchronized state explicitly and to prove its stability. Our results concerning the oscillatory field are in contradiction to Ermentrout's analysis [6].     

Shuttle-run synchronization in mobile ad hoc networks

In this work, we study the collective dynamics of phase oscillators in a mobile ad hoc network whose topology changes dynamically. As the network size or the communication radius of individual oscillators increases, the topology of the ad hoc network first undergoes percolation, forming a giant cluster, and then gradually achieves global connectivity. It is shown that oscillator mobility generally enhances the coherence in such networks. Interestingly, we find a new type of phase synchronization/clustering, in which the phases of the oscillators are distributed in a certain narrow range, while the instantaneous frequencies change signs frequently, leading to shuttle-run-like motion of the oscillators in phase space. We conduct a theoretical analysis to explain the mechanism of this synchronization and obtain the critical transition point.     

Synchronization in lattice-embedded scale-free networks

In this work, we study the effects of embedding a system of non-linear phase oscillators in a two-dimensional scale-free lattice. In order to analyze the effects of the embedding, we consider two different topologies. On the one hand, we consider a scale-free complex network where no constraint on the length of the links is taken into account. On the other hand, we use a method recently introduced for embedding scale-free networks in regular Euclidean lattices. In this case, the embedding is driven by a natural constraint of minimization of the total length of the links in the system. We analyze and compare the synchronization properties of a system of non-linear Kuramoto phase oscillators, when interactions between the oscillators take place in these networks. First, we analyze the behavior of the Kuramoto order parameter and show that the onset of synchronization is lower for non-constrained lattices. Then, we consider the behavior of the mean frequency of the oscillators as a function of the natural frequency for the two different networks and also for different values of the scale-free exponent. We show that, in contrast to non-embedded lattices that present a mean-field-like behavior characterized by the presence of a single cluster of synchronized oscillators, in embedded lattices the presence of a diversity of synchronized clusters at different mean frequencies can be observed. Finally, by considering the behavior of the mean frequency as a function of the degree, we study the role of hubs in the synchronization properties of the system.     

Synchronization of plant circadian oscillators with a phase delay effect of the vein network

Synchronization phenomena in coupled circadian oscillators of plant leaves were investigated experimentally using bioluminescence technology for a clock gene. Analyzing the phase of circadian oscillation, the phase-wave propagations and the phase delay caused by the vein network were observed. We describe these phase dynamics using a two-layer model with coupled Stuart-Landau equations. Global synchronization of circadian oscillators in the leaf is also investigated.