Diversity-enhanced stability.

We give compelling evidence that diversity, represented by a quenched disorder, can produce a resonant collective transition between two unsteady states in a network of coupled oscillators. The stability of a metastable state is optimized and the mean first-passage time maximized at an intermediate value of diversity. This finding shows that a system can benefit from inherent heterogeneity by allowing it to maximize the transition time from one state to another at the appropriate degree of heterogeneity.

Enhanced signal response in globally coupled networks of bistable oscillators: Effects of mean field density and signal shape.

This paper studies a set of globally coupled bistable oscillators, all subjected to the same weak periodic signal and identical coupling. The effect of mean field density (MFD) on global dynamics is analyzed. The oscillators switch from intra- to interwell motion as MFD increases, clearly demonstrating MFD-enhanced signal amplification.

Using coupling imperfection to control amplitude death.

Previous studies of nonlinear oscillator networks have shown that amplitude death (AD) occurs after tuning oscillator parameters and coupling properties. Here, we identify regimes where the opposite occurs and show that a local defect (or impurity) in network connectivity leads to AD suppression in situations where identically coupled oscillators cannot. The critical impurity strength value leading to oscillation restoration is an explicit function of network size and system parameters.