Changsong Zhou

The synchronization of chaotic systems

Abstract Synchronization of chaos refers to a process wherein two (or many) chaotic systems (either equivalent or nonequivalent) adjust a given property of their motion to a common behavior due to a coupling or to a forcing (periodical or noisy). We review major ideas involved in the field of synchronization of chaotic systems, and present in detail several types of synchronization features: complete synchronization, lag synchronization, generalized synchronization, phase and imperfect phase synchronization. We also discuss problems connected with characterizing synchronized states in extended pattern forming systems. Finally, we point out the relevance of chaos synchronization, especially in physiology, nonlinear optics and fluid dynamics, and give a review of relevant experimental applications of these ideas and techniques.

Synchronization in complex networks

Synchronization in complex networks Alex Arenas, 1, 2, 3 Albert D´ iaz-Guilera, 4, 2 Jurgen Kurths, 5 Yamir Moreno, 2, 6 and Changsong Zhou 7 Departament d’Enginyeria Inform` tica i Matem` tiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain a a Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009, Spain Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 Departament de F´ isica Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain Institute of Physics, University of Potsdam PF 601553, 14415 Potsdam, Germany Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009, Spain Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong (Dated: February 6, 2008) Synchronization processes in populations of locally interacting elements are in the focus of intense research in physical, biological, chemical, technological and social systems. The many efforts de- voted to understand synchronization phenomena in natural systems take now advantage of the recent theory of complex networks. In this review, we report the advances in the comprehension of synchronization phenomena when oscillating elements are constrained to interact in a complex network topology. We also overview the new emergent features coming out from the interplay between the structure and the function of the underlying pattern of connections. Extensive nu- merical work as well as analytical approaches to the problem are presented. Finally, we review several applications of synchronization in complex networks to different disciplines: biological systems and neuroscience, engineering and computer science, and economy and social sciences. PACS numbers: 05.45.Xt,89.75.Fb,89.75.Hc Contents I. Introduction II. Complex networks in a nutshell III. Coupled phase oscillator models on complex networks A. Phase oscillators 1. The Kuramoto model 2. Kuramoto model on complex networks 3. Onset of synchronization in complex networks 4. Path towards synchronization in complex networks 5. Kuramoto model on structured or modular networks 6. Synchronization by pacemakers B. Pulse-coupled models C. Coupled maps IV. Stability of the synchronized state in complex networks A. Master Stability Function formalism 1. Linear Stability and Master Stability Function 2. Measures of synchronizability 3. Synchronizability of typical network models 4. Synchronizability and structural characteristics of networks 5. Graph theoretical bounds to synchronizability 6. Synchronizability of weighted networks 7. Universal parameters controlling the synchronizability B. Design of synchronizable networks 1. Weighted couplings for enhancing synchronizability 2. Topological modification for enhancing synchronizability 3. Optimization of synchronizability C. Beyond the Master Stability Function formalism V. Applications A. Biological systems and neuroscience 1. Genetic networks 2. Circadian rhythms 3. Ecology 4. Neuronal networks 5. Cortical networks B. Computer science and engineering 1. Parallel/Distributed computation 2. Data mining 3. Consensus problems 4. Communication networks 5. Material and traffic flow 6. Power-grids C. Social sciences and economy 1. Opinion formation 2. Finance 3. World Trade Web D. Perspectives VI. Conclusions Acknowledgments References I. INTRODUCTION Synchronization, as an emerging phenomenon of a pop- ulation of dynamically interacting units, has fascinated humans from ancestral times. No matter whether the phenomenon is spontaneous or induced, synchronization captivates our minds and becomes one of the most in- teresting scientific problems. Synchronization processes are ubiquitous in nature and play a very important role in many different contexts as biology, ecology, climatol- ogy, sociology, technology, or even in arts ((Osipov et al., 2007; Pikovsky et al., 2001). It is known that synchrony

Network synchronization, diffusion, and the paradox of heterogeneity

Many complex networks display strong heterogeneity in the degree (connectivity) distribution. Heterogeneity in the degree distribution often reduces the average distance between nodes but, paradoxically, may suppress synchronization in networks of oscillators coupled symmetrically with uniform coupling strength. Here we offer a solution to this apparent paradox. Our analysis is partially based on the identification of a diffusive process underlying the communication between oscillators and reveals a striking relation between this process and the condition for the linear stability of the synchronized states. We show that, for a given degree distribution, the maximum synchronizability is achieved when the network of couplings is weighted and directed and the overall cost involved in the couplings is minimum. This enhanced synchronizability is solely determined by the mean degree and does not depend on the degree distribution and system size. Numerical verification of the main results is provided for representative classes of small-world and scale-free networks.

Synchronization in Oscillatory Networks

Basics on Synchronization and Paradigmatic Models.- Basic Models.- Synchronization Due to External Periodic Forcing.- Synchronization of Two Coupled Systems.- Synchronization in Geometrically Regular Ensembles.- Ensembles of Phase Oscillators.- Chains of Coupled Limit-Cycle Oscillators.- Ensembles of Chaotic Oscillators with a Periodic-Doubling Route to Chaos, R#x00F6 ssler Oscillators.- Intermittent-Like Oscillations in Chains of Coupled Maps.- Regular and Chaotic Phase Synchronization of Coupled Circle Maps.- Controlling Phase Synchronization in Oscillatory Networks.- Chains of Limit-Cycle Oscillators.- Chains and Lattices of Excitable Luo-Rudy Systems.- Synchronization in Complex Networks and Influence of Noise.- Noise-Induced Synchronization in Ensembles of Oscillatory and Excitable Systems.- Networks with Complex Topology.

Enhancing complex-network synchronization

Heterogeneity in the degree (connectivity) distribution has been shown to suppress synchronization in networks of symmetrically coupled oscillators with uniform coupling strength (unweighted coupling). Here we uncover a condition for enhanced synchronization in weighted networks with asymmetric coupling. We show that, in the optimum regime, synchronizability is solely determined by the average degree and does not depend on the system size and the details of the degree distribution. In scale-free networks, where the average degree may increase with heterogeneity, synchronizability is drastically enhanced and may become positively correlated with heterogeneity, while the overall cost involved in the network coupling is significantly reduced as compared to the case of unweighted coupling.

Universality in the synchronization of weighted random networks

Realistic networks display not only a complex topological structure, but also a heterogeneous distribution of weights in the connection strengths. Here we study synchronization in weighted complex networks and show that the synchronizability of random networks with a large minimum degree is determined by two leading parameters: the mean degree and the heterogeneity of the distribution of nodes intensity, where the intensity of a node, defined as the total strength of input connections, is a natural combination of topology and weights. Our results provide a possibility for the control of synchronization in complex networks by the manipulation of a few parameters.

Cortical hubs form a module for multisensory integration on top of the hierarchy of cortical networks

Sensory stimuli entering the nervous system follow particular paths of processing, typically separated (segregated) from the paths of other modal information. However, sensory perception, awareness and cognition emerge from the combination of information (integration). The corticocortical networks of cats and macaque monkeys display three prominent characteristics: (i) modular organisation (facilitating the segregation), (ii) abundant alternative processing paths and (iii) the presence of highly connected hubs. Here, we study in detail the organisation and potential function of the cortical hubs by graph analysis and information theoretical methods. We find that the cortical hubs form a spatially delocalised, but topologically central module with the capacity to integrate multisensory information in a collaborative manner. With this, we resolve the underlying anatomical substrate that supports the simultaneous capacity of the cortex to segregate and to integrate multisensory information.

Evidence for a bimodal distribution in human communication

Interacting human activities underlie the patterns of many social, technological, and economic phenomena. Here we present clear empirical evidence from Short Message correspondence that observed human actions are the result of the interplay of three basic ingredients: Poisson initiation of tasks and decision making for task execution in individual humans as well as interaction among individuals. This interplay leads to new types of interevent time distribution, neither completely Poisson nor power-law, but a bimodal combination of them. We show that the events can be separated into independent bursts which are generated by frequent mutual interactions in short times following random initiations of communications in longer times by the individuals. We introduce a minimal model of two interacting priority queues incorporating the three basic ingredients which fits well the distributions using the parameters extracted from the empirical data. The model can also embrace a range of realistic social interacting systems such as e-mail and letter communications when taking the time scale of processing into account. Our findings provide insight into various human activities both at the individual and network level. Our analysis and modeling of bimodal activity in human communication from the viewpoint of the interplay between processes of different time scales is likely to shed light on bimodal phenomena in other complex systems, such as interevent times in earthquakes, rainfall, forest fire, and economic systems, etc.

Impact of Social Punishment on Cooperative Behavior in Complex Networks

Social punishment is a mechanism by which cooperative individuals spend part of their resources to penalize defectors. In this paper, we study the evolution of cooperation in 2-person evolutionary games on networks when a mechanism for social punishment is introduced. Specifically, we introduce a new kind of role, punisher, which is aimed at reducing the earnings of defectors by applying to them a social fee. Results from numerical simulations show that different equilibria allowing the three strategies to coexist are possible as well as that social punishment further enhance the robustness of cooperation. Our results are confirmed for different network topologies and two evolutionary games. In addition, we analyze the microscopic mechanisms that give rise to the observed macroscopic behaviors in both homogeneous and heterogeneous networks. Our conclusions might provide additional insights for understanding the roots of cooperation in social systems.

Noise-induced synchronization and coherence resonance of a Hodgkin-Huxley model of thermally sensitive neurons.

We study nontrivial effects of noise on synchronization and coherence of a chaotic Hodgkin-Huxley model of thermally sensitive neurons. We demonstrate that identical neurons which are not coupled but subjected to a common fluctuating input (Gaussian noise) can achieve complete synchronization when the noise amplitude is larger than a threshold. For nonidentical neurons, noise can induce phase synchronization. Noise enhances synchronization of weakly coupled neurons. We also find that noise enhances the coherence of the spike trains. A saddle point embedded in the chaotic attractor is responsible for these nontrivial noise-induced effects. Relevance of our results to biological information processing is discussed.