title: Diversity of coupled oscillators can enhance their synchronization.
abstract: The heterogeneity of coupled oscillators is important for the degree of their synchronization. According to the classical Kuramoto model, larger heterogeneity reduces synchronization. Here, we show that in a model for coupled pancreatic β-cells, higher diversity of the cells induces higher synchrony. We find that any system of coupled oscillators that oscillates on two time scales and in which heterogeneity causes a transition from chaotic to damped oscillations on the fast time scale exhibits this property. Thus, synchronization of a subset of oscillating systems can be enhanced by increasing the heterogeneity of the system constituents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Immunology and Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig 38124, Germany.
authors.forename: Ghazal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Montaseri
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Immunology and Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig 38124, Germany.|Institute for Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig 38106, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer-Hermann