Phase-locked trajectories for dynamical systems on graphs (Q379021)

This paper addresses deterministic dynamics on explicitly given finite graphs. The main distinction between this paper and the majority of papers that has previously been published on the dynamics of networks is that the latter primarily focus on random dynamics and/or graph structures in a setting where the graph size tends to infinity. Its main result relies on the fact that the existence of phase-locked periodic trajectories is proved for general dynamical systems on graphs by relying on the notion of an order-induced graph, an idea similar in spirit as the one underlying Lyapunov functions. It is interesting to note that the ideas revealed in this paper can be applied to a family of well-studied discrete dynamical systems, namely cellular automata (CAs), though this paper mentions only a few of the studies that have been conducted in the field of CAs in general, and so-called graph CAs more in particular. It could be interesting to contrast the results presented in this paper with other works in the field [\textit{M. Fresnadillo} et al., ``A SIS epidemiological model based on cellular automata on graphs'', Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 5518, 1005--1062 (2009; \url{doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02481-8_160}); \textit{C. Marr} and \textit{M.-T. Hütt}, Phys. Lett., A 373, No. 5, 546--549 (2009; Zbl 1227.37006); \textit{J. M. Baetens} et al., Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul. 18, No. 3, 651--668 (2013; Zbl 1309.68135)], especially because the mathematical formalism presented in this paper could be of use for arriving at a more rigorous underpinning of the results presented in those papers.