Period Variability of Coupled Noisy Oscillators

TL;DR

This paper investigates how coupling affects period variability in noisy oscillators, deriving a phase-dependent SD expression and validating it with a realistic model to understand synchronization and coupling effects.

Contribution

It introduces a phase-dependent SD expression for coupled noisy oscillators and clarifies the relationship between period variability and synchronization.

Findings

SD depends on checkpoint phase only when oscillators are coupled

Derived an explicit expression for SD as a function of phase

Validated theory with a realistic oscillator model

Abstract

Period variability, quantified by the standard deviation (SD) of the cycle-to-cycle period, is investigated for noisy phase oscillators. We define the checkpoint phase as the beginning/end point of one oscillation cycle and derive an expression for the SD as a function of this phase. We find that the SD is dependent on the checkpoint phase only when oscillators are coupled. The applicability of our theory is verified using a realistic model. Our work clarifies the relationship between period variability and synchronization from which valuable information regarding coupling can be inferred.