title: Paths to synchronization on complex networks.
abstract: The understanding of emergent collective phenomena in natural and social systems has driven the interest of scientists from different disciplines during decades. Among these phenomena, the synchronization of a set of interacting individuals or units has been intensively studied because of its ubiquity in the natural world. In this Letter, we show how for fixed coupling strengths local patterns of synchronization emerge differently in homogeneous and heterogeneous complex networks, driving the process towards a certain global synchronization degree following different paths. The dependence of the dynamics on the coupling strength and on the topology is unveiled. This study provides a new perspective and tools to understand this emerging phenomena.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Gardeñes
authors.forename: Yamir
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arenas
mesh_terms: D004463:Ecology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009488:Neurosciences