Remote synchronization (RS) is characterized by the appearance of phase coherence between oscillators that do not directly interact through a structural link in a network but exclusively through other units that are not synchronized or more weakly synchronized with them. This form of phase synchronization was observed initially in starlike motifs and later in random networks. In this paper, we report on an experimental setup for the analysis of RS in networks of Stuart-Landau oscillators and in particular investigate the behavior of tree structures focusing on the path to synchronization, that is, on the analysis of how synchronization emerges as the coupling strength increases from zero. We find that RS occurs in a region wherein further increases of the coupling strength lead to a direct transition to global synchronization but may also be observed in a second region, corresponding to lower coupling values, wherein it first emerges and then disappears, hallmarking a scenario that we denote as fading of remote synchronization. We show that this result is related to the behavior of pairs of remotely synchronized nodes observed in networks with more general topologies. Experiments are corroborated by numerical simulations confirming the major findings and providing further characterization of the phenomenon. We demonstrate that the distribution of natural oscillation frequencies and the parameter uncertainty in the links both play a fundamental role in shaping the behaviors observed.

• Received 1 February 2019
• Revised 11 April 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.99.052301