# Noise-Induced Desynchronization and Stochastic Escape from Equilibrium in Complex Networks

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how noise can cause complex physical systems, modeled by Kuramoto-like equations, to escape from stable states, revealing that inertia can accelerate this process under certain noise conditions.

## Contribution

It derives conditions under which noise induces stochastic escape in complex networks and uncovers the counterintuitive role of inertia in this phenomenon.

## Key findings

- Inertia can lead to faster escape from stable states under noise.
- Noise strength influences the escape dynamics significantly.
- Counterintuitive effects of inertia on stochastic escape are identified.

## Abstract

Complex physical systems are unavoidably subjected to external environments not accounted for in the set of differential equations that models them. The resulting perturbations are standardly represented by noise terms. We derive conditions under which such noise terms perturb the dynamics strongly enough that they lead to stochastic escape from the initial basin of attraction of an initial stable equilibrium state of the unperturbed system. Focusing on Kuramoto-like models we find in particular that, quite counterintuitively, systems with inertia leave their initial basin faster than or at the same time as systems without inertia, except for strong white-noise perturbations.