Synchronizing distant nodes: a universal classification of networks

Stability of synchronization in delay-coupled networks of identical units generally depends in a complicated way on the coupling topology. We show that for large coupling delays synchronizability relates in a simple way to the spectral properties of the network topology. The master stability function used to determine the stability of synchronous solutions has a universal structure in the limit of large delay: It is rotationally symmetric around the origin and increases monotonically with the radius in the complex plane. This allows a universal classification of networks with respect to their synchronization properties and solves the problem of complete synchronization in networks with strongly delayed coupling.     

Impact of delays and rewiring on the dynamics of small-world neuronal networks with two types of coupling

We study synchronization transitions and pattern formation on small-world networks consisting of Morris-Lecar excitable neurons in dependence on the information transmission delay and the rewiring probability. In addition, networks formed via gap junctional connections and coupling via chemical synapses are considered separately. For gap-junctionally coupled networks we show that short delays can induce zigzag fronts of excitations, whereas long delays can further detriment synchronization due to a dynamic clustering anti-phase synchronization transition. For the synaptically coupled networks, on the other hand, we find that the clustering anti-phase synchronization can appear as a direct consequence of the prolongation of information transmission delay, without being accompanied by zigzag excitatory fronts. Irrespective of the coupling type, however, we show that an appropriate small-world topology can always restore synchronized activity if only the information transmission delays are short or moderate at most. Long information transmission delays always evoke anti-phase synchronization and clustering, in which case the fine-tuning of the network topology fails to restore the synchronization of neuronal activity.     

The effect of distributed time-delays on the synchronization of neuronal networks

Here we investigate the synchronization of networks of FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons coupled in scale-free, small-world and random topologies, in the presence of distributed time delays in the coupling of neurons. We explore how the synchronization transition is affected when the time delays in the interactions between pairs of interacting neurons are non-uniform. We find that the presence of distributed time-delays does not change the behavior of the synchronization transition significantly, vis-a-vis networks with constant time-delay, where the value of the constant time-delay is the mean of the distributed delays. We also notice that a normal distribution of delays gives rise to a transition at marginally lower coupling strengths, vis-a-vis uniformly distributed delays. These trends hold across classes of networks and for varying standard deviations of the delay distribution, indicating the generality of these results. So we conclude that distributed delays, which may be typically expected in real-world situations, do not have a notable effect on synchronization. This allows results obtained with constant delays to remain relevant even in the case of randomly distributed delays.     

具有双重时滞的时变耦合复杂网络的牵制外同步研究

针对同时具有节点时滞和耦合时滞的时变耦合复杂网络的外同步问题, 提出一种简单有效的自适应牵制控制方法. 首先构建一种贴近实际的驱动-响应复杂网络模型, 在模型中引入双重时滞和时变不对称外部耦合矩阵. 进一步设计易于实现的自适应牵制控制器, 对网络中的一部分关键节点进行控制. 构造适当的Lyapunov泛函, 利用 LaSalle不变集原理和线性矩阵不等式, 给出两个复杂网络实现外同步的充分条件. 最后, 仿真结果表明所提同步方法的有效性, 同时揭示耦合时滞对同步收敛速度的影响.     

Synchronization Transition of Time Delayed Complex Dynamical Networks with Discontinuous Coupling

This paper investigates the synchronization of time delayed complex dynamical networks with periodical on-off coupling. Both the theoretical and numerical results show that, in spite of time delays and on-off coupling, two networks may synchronize if the coupling strength and the on-off rate are large enough. It is shown that, for undirected and strongly connected networks, the upper bound of time delays for synchronization is a decreasing function of the absolute value of the minimum eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix. The theoretical analysis confirms the numerical results and provides a better understanding of the influence of time delays and on-off coupling on the synchronization transition. The influence of random delays on the synchronization is also discussed.     

Pinning synchronization of time-varying delay coupled complex networks with time-varying delayed dynamical nodes

This paper deals with the pinning synchronization of nonlinearly coupled complex networks with time-varying coupling delays and time-varying delays in the dynamical nodes.We control a part of the nodes of the complex networks by using adaptive feedback controllers and adjusting the time-varying coupling strengths.Based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii stability theory for functional differential equations and a linear matrix inequality(LMI),some sufficient conditions for the synchronization are derived.A numerical simulation example is also provided to verify the correctness and the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Novel criteria of synchronization stability in complex networks with coupling delays

Complex networks are wide spread in the real world, arising in fields as disparate as sociology, physics and biology. The information spreading through a complex network is often associated with time delays due to the finite speeds of signal transmission over a distance. Hence, complex networks with coupling delays have gained increasing attention in various fields of science and engineering today. In this paper, based on the theory of asymptotic stability of linear time-delay systems, synchronization stability in complex dynamical networks with coupling delays is investigated, and we derive novel criteria of synchronization state for both delay-independent and delay-dependent stabilities. As illustrative examples, we use the networks with coupling delays and a given coupling scheme to test the theoretical results.     

Periodically intermittent controlling complex dynamical networks with time-varying delays to a desired orbit

This Letter investigates the problem of synchronization in complex dynamical networks with time-varying delays. A periodically intermittent control scheme is proposed to achieve global exponential synchronization for a general complex network with both time-varying delays dynamical nodes and time-varying delays coupling. It is shown that the sates of the general complex network with both time-varying delays dynamical nodes and time-varying delays coupling can globally exponentially synchronize with a desired orbit under the designed intermittent controllers. Moreover, a typical network consisting of the time-delayed Chua oscillator with nearest-neighbor unidirectional time-varying delays coupling is given as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology.     

Impulsive synchronization of coupled dynamical networks with nonidentical Duffing oscillators and coupling delays

This paper aims to investigate the synchronization problem of coupled dynamical networks with nonidentical Duffing-type oscillators without or with coupling delays. Different from cluster synchronization of nonidentical dynamical networks in the previous literature, this paper focuses on the problem of complete synchronization, which is more challenging than cluster synchronization. By applying an impulsive controller, some sufficient criteria are obtained for complete synchronization of the coupled dynamical networks of nonidentical oscillators. Furthermore, numerical simulations are given to verify the theoretical results.     

Mutual and intermittent enhancements of synchronization transitions by autaptic and synaptic delay in scale-free neuron networks

In neural networks, there exist both synaptic delays among different neurons and autaptic self-feedback delays in a neuron itself. In this paper, we study synchronization transitions induced by synaptic and autaptic delays in scale-free neuron networks, mainly exploring how these two time delays affect synchronization transitions induced by each other. It is found that the synchronization transitions induced by synaptic (autaptic) delay are intermittently enhanced when autaptic (synaptic) delay is varied. There are optimal autaptic strength and synaptic coupling strength by which the synchronization transitions induced by autaptic and synaptic delays become strongest. The underlying mechanisms are briefly discussed in terms of the relationships of autaptic delay, synaptic delay, and inter-burst interval. These results show that synaptic and autaptic delays could contribute to each other and enhance synchronization transitions in the neuronal networks. This implies that autaptic and synaptic delays could play a vital role for the information transmission in neural systems.     

Synchronization in an array of linearly stochastically coupled networks with time delays

In this paper, the complete synchronization problem is investigated in an array of linearly stochastically coupled identical networks with time delays. The stochastic coupling term, which can reflect a more realistic dynamical behavior of coupled systems in practice, is introduced to model a coupled system, and the influence from the stochastic noises on the array of coupled delayed neural networks is studied thoroughly. Based on a simple adaptive feedback control scheme and some stochastic analysis techniques, several sufficient conditions are developed to guarantee the synchronization in an array of linearly stochastically coupled neural networks with time delays. Finally, an illustrate example with numerical simulations is exploited to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

基于自适应-脉冲控制方法实现时变耦合驱动-响应复杂网络的投影同步

最近,对时变延迟网络的脉冲稳定性的研究大量出现,但通过自适应-脉冲控制方法获得的时变延迟网络同步准则却很少.本文中,运用自适应-脉冲控制方法,设计自适应反馈控制器、自适应律和线性脉冲控制器,研究时变耦合部分线性系统驱动-响应复杂网络的投影同步.获得时变耦合网络的自适应-脉冲投影同步准则.并且不需要网络的耦合构造矩阵是不可约的.另外,运用数值模拟证实方案的有效性和可行性.     

Robust adaptive synchronization of general dynamical networks with multiple delays and uncertainties

In this article, a general complex dynamical network which contains multiple delays and uncertainties is introduced, which contains time-varying coupling delays, time-varying node delay, and uncertainties of both the inner- and outer-coupling matrices. A robust adaptive synchronization scheme for these general complex networks with multiple delays and uncertainties is established and raised by employing the robust adaptive control principle and the Lyapunov stability theory. We choose some suitable adaptive synchronization controllers to ensure the robust synchronization of this dynamical network. The numerical simulations of the time-delay Lorenz chaotic system as local dynamical node are provided to observe and verify the viability and productivity of the theoretical research in this paper. Compared to the achievement of previous research, the research in this paper seems quite comprehensive and universal.     

Global synchronization of Chua＇s chaotic delay network by using linear matrix inequality

Global synchronization of Chua‘s chaotic dynamical networks with coupling delays is investigated in this paper.Unlike other approaches, where only local results were obtained, the network is found to be not linearized in this paper.Insteat, the global synchronization is obtained by using the linear matrix inequality theory. Moreover, some quite simple linear-state-error feedback controllers for global synchronization are derived, which can be easily constructed based on the minimum eigenvalue of the coupling matrix. A simulation of Chua‘s chaotic network with global coupling delays in nodes is finally given, which is used to verify the theoretical results of the proposed global synchron izationscheme.     

Synchronization in a class of weighted complex networks with coupling delays

It is commonly accepted that realistic networks can display not only a complex topological structure, but also a heterogeneous distribution of connection weights. In addition, time delay is inevitable because the information spreading through a complex network is characterized by the finite speeds of signal transmission over a distance. Weighted complex networks with coupling delays have been gaining increasing attention in various fields of science and engineering. Some of the topics of most concern in the field of weighted complex networks are finding how the synchronizability depends on various parameters of the network including the coupling strength, weight distribution and delay. On the basis of the theory of asymptotic stability of linear time-delay systems with complex coefficients, the synchronization stability of weighted complex dynamical networks with coupling delays is investigated, and simple criteria are obtained for both delay-independent and delay-dependent stabilities of the synchronization state. Finally, an example is given as an illustration testing the theoretical results.     

Limits and Dynamics of Stochastic Neuronal Networks with Random Heterogeneous Delays

Realistic networks display heterogeneous transmission delays. We analyze here the limits of large stochastic multi-populations networks with stochastic coupling and random interconnection delays. We show that depending on the nature of the delays distributions, a quenched or averaged propagation of chaos takes place in these networks, and that the network equations converge towards a delayed McKean-Vlasov equation with distributed delays. Our approach is mostly fitted to neuroscience applications. We instantiate in particular a classical neuronal model, the Wilson and Cowan system, and show that the obtained limit equations have Gaussian solutions whose mean and standard deviation satisfy a closed set of coupled delay differential equations in which the distribution of delays and the noise levels appear as parameters. This allows to uncover precisely the effects of noise, delays and coupling on the dynamics of such heterogeneous networks, in particular their role in the emergence of synchronized oscillations. We show in several examples that not only the averaged delay, but also the dispersion, govern the dynamics of such networks.     

Zero-lag long-range synchronization via dynamical relaying

We show that isochronous synchronization between two delay-coupled oscillators can be achieved by relaying the dynamics via a third mediating element, which surprisingly lags behind the synchronized outer elements. The zero-lag synchronization thus obtained is robust over a considerable parameter range. We substantiate our claims with experimental and numerical evidence of such synchronization solutions in a chain of three coupled semiconductor lasers with long interelement coupling delays. The generality of the mechanism is validated in a neuronal model with the same coupling architecture. Thus, our results show that zero-lag synchronized chaotic dynamical states can occur over long distances through relaying, without restriction by the amount of delay.     

Nonlocal Mechanism for Synchronization of Time Delay Networks

We present the interplay between synchronization of networks with heterogeneous delays and the greatest common divisor (GCD) of loops composing the network. We distinguish between two types of networks; (I) chaotic networks and (II) population dynamic networks with periodic activity driven by external stimuli. For type (I), in the weak chaos region, the units of a chaotic network characterized by GCD=1 are in a chaotic zero-lag synchronization, whereas for GCD>1, the network splits into GCD-clusters in which clustered units are in zero-lag synchronization. These results are supported by simulations of chaotic systems, self-consistent and mixing arguments, as well as analytical solutions of Bernoulli maps. Type (II) is exemplified by simulations of Hodgkin Huxley population dynamic networks with unidirectional connectivity, synaptic noise and distribution of delays within neurons belonging to a node and between connecting nodes. For a stimulus to one node, the network splits into GCD-clusters in which cluster neurons are in zero-lag synchronization. For complex external stimuli, the network splits into clusters equal to the greatest common divisor of loops composing the network (spatial) and the periodicity of the external stimuli (temporal). The results suggest that neural information processing may take place in the transient to synchronization and imply a much shorter time scale for the inference of a perceptual entity.     

Synchronizability of chaotic logistic maps in delayed complex networks

We study a network of coupled logistic maps whose interactions occur with a certain distribution of delay times. The local dynamics is chaotic in the absence of coupling and thus the network is a paradigm of a complex system. There are two regimes of synchronization, depending on the distribution of delays: when the delays are sufficiently heterogeneous the network synchronizes on a steady-state (that is unstable for the uncoupled maps); when the delays are homogeneous, it synchronizes in a time-dependent state (that is either periodic or chaotic). Using two global indicators we quantify the synchronizability on the two regimes, focusing on the roles of the network connectivity and the topology. The connectivity is measured in terms of the average number of links per node, and we consider various topologies (scale-free, small-world, star, and nearest-neighbor with and without a central hub). With weak connectivity and weak coupling strength, the network displays an irregular oscillatory dynamics that is largely independent of the topology and of the delay distribution. With heterogeneous delays, we find a threshold connectivity level below which the network does not synchronize, regardless of the network size. This minimum average number of neighbors seems to be independent of the delay distribution. We also analyze the effect of self-feedback loops and find that they have an impact on the synchronizability of small networks with large coupling strengths. The influence of feedback, enhancing or degrading synchronization, depends on the topology and on the distribution of delays.     

Synchronization of stochastically hybrid coupled neural networks with coupling discrete and distributed time-varying delays

A general model of linearly stochastically coupled identical connected neural networks with hybrid coupling is proposed, which is composed of constant coupling, coupling discrete time-varying delay and coupling distributed timevarying delay. All the coupling terms are subjected to stochastic disturbances described in terms of Brownian motion, which reflects a more realistic dynamical behaviour of coupled systems in practice. Based on a simple adaptive feedback controller and stochastic stability theory, several sufficient criteria are presented to ensure the synchronization of linearly stochastically coupled complex networks with coupling mixed time-varying delays. Finally, numerical simulations illustrated by scale-free complex networks verify the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.