Mobility induces global synchronization of oscillators in periodic extended systems

Fernando Peruani (1, 2) , Ernesto Nicola (2, 3) , Luis G. Morelli (2, 4, 5)

1 SPEC - UMR3680 - Service de physique de l'état condensé
2 MPI-PKS - Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
3 CSIC-UIB - Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems
4 Departamento de Física [Buenos Aires]
5 MPI-CBG - Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

We study the synchronization of locally coupled noisy phase oscillators that move diffusively in a one-dimensional ring. Together with the disordered and the globally synchronized states, the system also exhibits wave-like states displaying local order. We use a statistical description valid for a large number of oscillators to show that for any finite system there is a critical mobility above which all wave-like solutions become unstable. Through Langevin simulations, we show that the transition to global synchronization is mediated by a shift in the relative size of attractor basins associated with wave-like states. Mobility disrupts these states and paves the way for the system to attain global synchronization.

Domaines: Biophysique [physics.bio-ph]

Fernando Peruani, Ernesto Nicola, Luis G. Morelli. Mobility induces global synchronization of oscillators in periodic extended systems. New Journal of Physics, 2010, 12 (9), pp.093029. ⟨10.1088/1367-2630/12/9/093029⟩. ⟨hal-00905222⟩