Stochastic synchronization induced by noise

Yunxiang Song, Thomas A. Witten

Published 2021-08-16Version 1

Random perturbations applied in tandem to an ensemble of objects can synchronize their motion. We study multiple copies of an object in periodic motion such as a firing neuron, each with an arbitrary phase. Randomly-timed external impulses can synchronize these phases. For impulses slightly too strong to synchronize, we find remarkable erratic synchronization, with stochastic fluctuations from near-perfect to more random synchronization. The sampled entropies of these phase distributions themselves form a steady-state ensemble. A stochastic dynamics model for the entropy's evolution accounts for the observed exponential distribution of entropies and the stochastic synchronization.