Reliability of coupled oscillators (Q1041279)

The paper deals with networks of phase oscillators with pulsatile coupling. External stimuli in the form of white noise are presented to a subset of the oscillators, and reliability properties of network responses are studied. In order to measure unreliability, the largest Lyapunov exponent is used. The first part of the paper provides a description of the model under consideration, a formal definition of reliability, and a review of the theory of random dynamical systems. In the second part, a small network consisting of two oscillators is studied. It is demonstrated that unreliable behavior occurs already in a system of two oscillators with recurrent connections. The behavior of the system depends on the strength of the feedforward and feedback couplings. Geometric explanations are given for some of the observed phenomena. Furthermore, reliability properties are related to response to weak stimuli to shear induced chaos. In the third part, the network is viewed as an acyclic graph connecting several modules. A rigorous mathematical analysis of the decomposition into modules, including a representation of Lyapunov exponents of networks in terms of Lyapunov exponents of modules is provided. The authors conclude that once produced, unreliability propagates; no site downstream can be completely reliable.