Anomalous phase synchronization in two asymmetrically coupled oscillators in the presence of noise

We study the route to synchronization in two noisy, nonisochronous oscillators. Anomalous phase synchronization arises if both oscillators differ in their respective value of nonisochronicity and it is characterized by a strong detuning of the oscillator frequencies with the onset of coupling. Here we show that anomalous synchronization, both in limit-cycle or chaotic oscillators, can considerably be enlarged under the influence of asymmetrical coupling and noise. In these systems we describe a number of noise induced effects, such as an inversion of the natural frequency difference and coupling induced desynchronization of two identical oscillators. Our results can be explained in terms of a noisy particle in a tilted washboard potential.