Enhancing the synchronizability of networks by rewiring based on tabu search and a local greedy algorithm

By considering the eigenratio of the Laplacian matrix as the synchronizability measure, this paper presents an efficient method to enhance the synchronizability of undirected and unweighted networks via rewiring. The rewiring method combines the use of tabu search and a local greedy algorithm so that an effective search of solutions can be achieved. As demonstrated in the simulation results, the performance of the proposed approach outperforms the existing methods for a large variety of initial networks, both in terms of speed and quality of solutions.

Searching for Best Network Topologies with Optimal Synchronizability:A Brief Review

The Laplacian eigenvalue spectrum of a complex network contains a great deal of information about the network topology and dynamics,particularly affecting the network synchronization process and performance.This article briefly reviews the recent progress in the studies of network synchronizability,regarding its spectral criteria and topological optimization,and explores the role of higher-order topologies in measuring the optimal synchronizability of large-scale complex networks.

Two Novel Methods to Enhance Network Synchronizability

In this paper, we propose two methods to enhance the synchronizability of a class of complex networks which do not hold the positive correlation between betweenness centrality （BC） and degree of a node, and observe other topology characteristics of the network affected by the methods. Numerical simulations show that both methods can effectively enhance the synchronizability of this kind of networks. Furthermore, we show that the maximal BC of all edges is an important factor to affect the network synchronizability, although it is not the unique factor.

The Synchronizability and Optimized Analysis of the Hierarchical Network

A large number of research results show that the synchronizability of complex networks is closely related to the topological structure. Some typical complex network models, such as random networks, small-world networks, BA scale-free network, etc, have totally different synchronizability. In this paper, a kind of hierarchical network synchronizability of self-similar module structures was studied, with more focus on the effect of the initial size of the module and network layer to the synchronizability and further research on the problem of network synchronous optimization. The Law of Segmentation Method was employed to reduce the maximum node betweenness and the Law of Parallel Reconnection employed to improve the ability of synchronizability of complex network by reducing the average path length of networks. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of proposed methods was verified through a lot of numerically simulative experiments.

Synchronizability of Two-Layer Cluster Ring Networks

Multilayer network is a frontier direction of network science research. In this paper, the cluster ring network is extended to a two-layer network model, and the inner structures of the cluster blocks are random, small world or scale-free. We study the influence of network scale, the interlayer linking weight and interlayer linking fraction on synchronizability. It is found that the synchronizability of the two-layer cluster ring network decreases with the increase of network size. There is an optimum value of the interlayer linking weight in the two-layer cluster ring network, which makes the synchronizability of the network reach the optimum. When the interlayer linking weight and the interlayer linking fraction are very small, the change of them will affect the synchronizability.

Enhancing synchronizability by rewiring networks

According to different forms of synchronized region, complex networks are divided into type Ⅰ （unbounded synchronization region） and type Ⅱ （bounded synchronization region） networks. This paper presents a rewiring algorithm to enhance the synchronizability of type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ networks. By utilizing the algorithm for an unweighted and undirected network, a better synchronizability of network with the same number of nodes and edges can be obtained. Numerical simulations on several different network models are used to support the proposed procedure. The relationship between different topological properties of the networks and the number of rewirings are shown. It finds that the final optimized network is independent of the initial network, and becomes homogeneous. In addition the optimized networks have similar structural properties in the sense of degree, and node and edge betweenness centralities. However, they do not have similar cluster coefficients for type Ⅱ networks. The research may be useful for designing more synchronizable networks and understanding the synchronization behaviour of networks.

Average Range and Network Synchronizability

The influence of structural properties of a network on the network synchronizability is studied by introducing a new concept of average range of edges. For both small-world and scale-free networks, the effect of average range on the synchronizability of networks with bounded or unbounded synchronization regions is illustrated through numerical simulations. The relations between average range, range distribution, average distance, and maximum betweenness are also explored, revealing the effects of these factors on the network synchronizability of the small-world and scale-free networks, respectively.

Does the eigenratio synchronizability of λ2/λN represent the a complex network？

In the study of complex networks, it is commonly believed that the eigenratio λ2/λN of the Laplacian matrix of a network represents the network synchronizability, especially for symmetric networks. This paper gives two counterexamples to show that this is not true for the case where the network has a disconnected synchronized region. Consequently, a simple answer is presented to the question of when the eigenratio λ2/λN does represent the network synchronizability.

Eigenvalue Spectrum and Synchronizability of Double-Layer Directed Ring Networks

The synchronizability of multiplex undirected regular networks has been intensively studied based on the study of the synchronizability of single-layer networks. However, most real networks are characterized by some degree of directionality. So multiplex directed networks can better explain the synchronizability phenomenon. Here, based on the theory of master stability function (MSF), we study the eigenvalue spectrum and synchronizability of double-layer inter-layer directed ring networks (Networks-A) and double-layer intra-layer directed ring networks (Networks-B). The eigenvalue spectrum of the supra-Laplacian matrix of the networks is rigorously derived, and the influence of the networks structure parameters on the network’s synchronizability is analyzed. The correctness of the theory is further verified by numerical simulation analysis. Finally, the synchronizability of four kinds of double-layer ring networks with different coupling modes, namely, Networks-A, Networks-B, Networks-C (double-layer undirected ring networks), and Networks-D (double-layer undirected inter-layer random-added-edge ring networks), is compared and the results can provide guidance for constructing the optimal synchronization network.

The Immense Impact of Reverse Edges on Large Hierarchical Networks

Hierarchical networks are frequently encountered in animal groups,gene networks,and artificial engineering systems such as multiple robots,unmanned vehicle systems,smart grids,wind farm networks,and so forth.The structure of a large directed hierarchical network is often strongly influenced by reverse edges from lower-to higher-level nodes,such as lagging birds’howl in a flock or the opinions of lowerlevel individuals feeding back to higher-level ones in a social group.This study reveals that,for most large-scale real hierarchical networks,the majority of the reverse edges do not affect the synchronization process of the entire network;the synchronization process is influenced only by a small part of these reverse edges along specific paths.More surprisingly,a single effective reverse edge can slow down the synchronization of a huge hierarchical network by over 60%.The effect of such edges depends not on the network size but only on the average in-degree of the involved subnetwork.The overwhelming majority of active reverse edges turn out to have some kind of“bunching”effect on the information flows of hierarchical networks,which slows down synchronization processes.This finding refines the current understanding of the role of reverse edges in many natural,social,and engineering hierarchical networks,which might be beneficial for precisely tuning the synchronization rhythms of these networks.Our study also proposes an effective way to attack a hierarchical network by adding a malicious reverse edge to it and provides some guidance for protecting a network by screening out the specific small proportion of vulnerable nodes.

Synchronizability of time-varying structured duplex dynamical networks with different intra-layer rewiring mechanisms

Global synchronizability of duplex networks induced by three different intra-layer rewiring mechanisms is explored in this paper.The rewiring mechanisms are named as model-preserving rewiring(MPR), simply direct rewiring(SDR), and degree-preserving rewiring(DPR), respectively. It is found that high switching frequencies will certainly enhance global synchronizability for WSWS duplex networks(i.e., each layer is independently formed by the algorithm proposed by Watts and Strogatz for generating small-world networks), ER-ER duplex networks(i.e., each layer is independently generated by the algorithm proposed by Erd ¨os and Renyi) and BA-BA duplex networks(i.e., each layer is independently formed by the classical BA algorithm). Namely,the faster the intra-layer couplings are reconnected, the faster the duplex networks reach global synchronization. Furthermore,we find that by increasing the intra-or inter-coupling strengths, the WS-WS time-varying network’s global synchronizability is enhanced. Take the WS-WS time-varying network as an example, we find that SDR mechanism has greater impact on global synchronizability than MPR mechanism and DPR mechanism. The related dynamical networks can arrive at synchronization faster by SDR than by MPR or DPR. Thus, we only study the effects of SDR on ER-ER duplex networks and BA-BA duplex networks. In addition, we obtain the fact via numerical simulations that, switching intra-layer coupling topologies under SDR mechanism has the greatest impact on the BA-BA duplex network, followed by the ER-ER network, and has the weakest influence on the WS-WS duplex network in terms of improving the global synchronizability when all the intra-layer networks are sparse and have the same average degree. Finally, the global synchronizability of WS-WS and BA-BA time-varying networks is improved compared with static duplex networks, the reason being that the networks tend to be randomized under SDR according to analysis of the networks’ average clustering coefficients and degree distributions.

Are networks with more edges easier to synchronize,or not?

In this paper, the relationship between network synchronizability and the edge-addition of its associated graph is investigated. First, it is shown that adding one edge to a cycle definitely decreases the network synchronizability. Then, since sometimes the synchronizability can be enhanced by changing the network structure, the question of whether the networks with more edges are easier to synchronize is addressed. Based on a subgraph and complementary graph method, it is shown by examples that the answer is negative even if the network structure is arbitrarily optimized. This reveals that generally there are redundant edges in a network, which not only make no contributions to synchronization but actually may reduce the synchronizability. Moreover, a simple example shows that the node betweenness centrality is not always a good indicator for the network synchronizability. Finally, some more examples are presented to illustrate how the network synchronizability varies following the addition of edges, where all the examples show that the network synchronizability globally increases but locally fluctuates as the number of added edges increases.

Coarse-Graining Method Based on Hierarchical Clustering on Complex Networks

With the rapid development of big data, the scale of realistic networks is increasing continually. In order to reduce the network scale, some coarse-graining methods are proposed to transform large-scale networks into mesoscale networks. In this paper, a new coarse-graining method based on hierarchical clustering (HCCG) on complex networks is proposed. The network nodes are grouped by using the hierarchical clustering method, then updating the weights of edges between clusters extract the coarse-grained networks. A large number of simulation experiments on several typical complex networks show that the HCCG method can effectively reduce the network scale, meanwhile maintaining the synchronizability of the original network well. Furthermore, this method is more suitable for these networks with obvious clustering structure, and we can choose freely the size of the coarse-grained networks in the proposed method.

Geometrical Frameworks in Identification Problem

The purpose of this review is to apply geometric frameworks in identification problems. In contrast to the qualitative theory of dynamical systems (DSQT), the chaos and catastrophes, researches on the application of geometric frameworks have not been performed in identification problems. The direct transfer of DSQT ideas is inefficient through the peculiarities of identification systems. In this paper, the attempt is made based on the latest researches in this field. A methodology for the synthesis of geometric frameworks (GF) is proposed, which reflects features of nonlinear systems. Methods based on GF analysis are developed for the decision-making on properties and structure of nonlinear systems. The problem solution of structural identifiability is obtained for nonlinear systems under uncertainty.

Induced generalized exact boundary synchronizations for a coupled system of wave equations

Taking a coupled system of wave equations with Dirichlet boundary controls as an example,by splitting and merging some synchronization groups of the state variables cor-responding to a given generalized synchronization matrix,this paper introduces two kinds of induced generalized exact boundary synchronizations to better determine its generalized exactly synchronizable states.

A unified dynamic scaling property for the unified hybrid network theory framework

In this article, we present a new type of unified dynamic scaling property for synchronizability, which can describe the scaling relationship between dynamic synehronizability and four hybrid ratios under the unified hybrid network theory framework （UHNTF）. Our theory results can not only be applied to judge and analyze dynamic synehronizability for most of complex networks associated with the UHNTF, but also we can flexibly adjust and design different hybrid ratios and sealing exponent to meet actual requirement for the dynanfic characteristics of the UHNTF.

Pinning synchronization of networked multi-agent systems: spectral analysis

Pinning synchronization of a networked multi-agent system with a directed communication topology is investigated from a spectral analysis approach. Some new types of synchronized regions for networked systems with different nonlinear agent dynamics and inner coupling structures are discovered. The eigenvalue distributions of the coupling and control matrices for different types of directed networks are obtained. The effects of the network topology, pinning density and pinning strength on the network synchronizability are examined through extensive numerical simulations. It is shown that the synchronizability of the pinned network can be effectively improved by increasing pinning density and pinning strength for some types of synchronized regions, whereas too large the pinning density and pinning strength will lead to desynchronization for other types. It is found that directed random networks are not always easier to synchronize than directed small-world networks, and a denser eigenvalue distribution may not always imply better synchronizability.

On the Synchronizable System

In this paper,the synchronizable system is defined and studied for a coupled system of wave equations with the same wave speed or with different wave speeds.

Generalized Exact Boundary Synchronization for a Coupled System of Wave Equations with Dirichlet Boundary Controls

This paper deals with the generalized exact boundary synchronization for a coupled system of wave equations with Dirichlet boundary controls in the framework of weak solutions.A necessary and sufficient condition for the generalized exact boundary synchronization is obtained,and some results for its generalized exactly synchronizable states are given.

Partial approximate boundary synchronization for a coupled system of wave equations with Dirichlet boundary controls

In this paper,we propose the concept of partial approximate boundary synchronization for a coupled system of wave equations with Dirichlet boundary controls,and make a deep discussion on it.We analyze the relationship between the partial approximate boundary synchronization and the partial exact boundary synchronization,and obtain sufficient conditions to realize the partial approximate boundary synchronization and necessary conditions of Kalman’s criterion.In addition,with the help of partial synchronization decomposition,a condition that the approximately synchronizable state does not depend on the sequence of boundary controls is also given.