Delayed feedback control of synchronization in weakly coupled oscillator networks

Abstract: We study control of synchronization in weakly coupled oscillator networks by using a phase reduction approach. Starting from a general class of limit cycle oscillators we derive a phase model, which shows that delayed feedback control changes effective coupling strengths and effective frequencies. We derive the analytical condition for critical control gain, where the phase dynamics of the oscillator becomes extremely sensitive to any perturbations. As a result the network can attain phase synchronization even if the natural interoscillatory couplings are small. In addition, we demonstrate that delayed feedback control can disrupt the coherent phase dynamic in synchronized networks. The validity of our results is illustrated on networks of diffusively coupled Stuart--Landau and FitzHugh--Nagumo models.