Effects of noise on the outer synchronization of two unidirectionally coupled complex dynamical networks

We study the effect of noise on the outer synchronization between two unidirectionally coupled complex networks and find analytically that outer synchronization could be achieved via white-noise-based coupling. It is also demonstrated that, if two networks have both conventional linear coupling and white-noise-based coupling, the critical deterministic coupling strength between two complex networks for synchronization transition decreases with an increase in the intensity of noise. We provide numerical results to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the theoretical results. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4721997]