(???????)Diversity-enhanced stability

We give compelling evidence that diversity, represented by a quenched disorder, can produce a resonant collective transition between two unsteady states in a network of coupled oscillators. The stability of a metastable state is optimized and the mean first-passage time maximized at an intermediate value of diversity. This finding shows that a system can benefit from inherent heterogeneity by allowing it to maximize the transition time from one state to another at the appropriate degree of heterogeneity.

Automated summary

We provide compelling evidence that diversity, represented by a quenched disorder, can lead to a resonant collective transition between two unstable states in a network of coupled oscillators. The stability of a metastable state is optimized and the mean first-passage time is maximized at an intermediate level of diversity. This finding demonstrates that a system can benefit from inherent heterogeneity by allowing it to maximize the transition time from one state to another at the appropriate level of heterogeneity.