Synchronization of fluctuating delay-coupled chaotic networks

Abstract: We study the synchronization of chaotic units connected through time-delayed fluctuating interactions. We focus on small-world networks of Bernoulli and Logistic units with a fixed chiral backbone. Comparing the synchronization properties of static and fluctuating networks, we find that random network alternations can enhance the synchronizability. Synchronized states appear to be maximally stable when fluctuations are much faster than the time-delay, even when the instantaneous state of the network does not allow synchronization. This enhancing effect disappears for very slow fluctuations. For fluctuation time scales of the order of the time-delay, a desynchronizing resonance is reported. Moreover, we observe characteristic oscillations, with a periodicity related to the coupling delay, as the system approaches or drifts away from the synchronized state.