The structure of uni-directional chain for the synchronization of networked chaotic systems

In this paper, we introduce the structure of uni-directional chain (UDC) as a benchmark to probe the synchronizability of networked chaotic system. By studying the relation between the length of UDC and its synchronizability, we identify a region of coupling strength, referred to as strong controllable region (SCR), where a UDC with arbitrary length could realize synchronization that is robust to non-local disturbance. More importantly, it is found that there exists a kind of chaotic oscillators where the region of negative master stability function (MSF) overlaps with the SCR. As MSF implements local stability analysis to provide the necessary condition for the appearance of synchronization, while SCR permits stable synchronization corresponding to non-local disturbance pertinent to sufficient condition, the role of MSF for such kind of oscillator may be equivalent to provide sufficient condition of network synchronization. Besides, we propose methods for the control of network synchronization based on the characteristic of UDC. For networks with fixed structure, by obtaining a minimal spanning tree, each node chooses one of its neighbors and follows its dynamics with uniform coupling strength to realize synchronization. For growing networks, by establishing directed connection from newly added nodes to existing nodes. An interacting structure which is similar to the combination of a group of UDCs is formed and the system is guaranteed to be controlled within the SCR.