title: Universality of synchrony: critical behavior in a discrete model of stochastic phase-coupled oscillators.
abstract: We present the simplest discrete model to date that leads to synchronization of stochastic phase-coupled oscillators. In the mean field limit, the model exhibits a Hopf bifurcation and global oscillatory behavior as coupling crosses a critical value. When coupling between units is strictly local, the model undergoes a continuous phase transition which we characterize numerically using finite-size scaling analysis. In particular, the onset of global synchrony is marked by signatures of the XY universality class, including the appropriate classical exponents beta and nu, a lower critical dimension d(lc) = 2, and an upper critical dimension d(uc) = 4.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0340, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van den Broeck
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindenberg