Lag synchronization of complex networks via pinning control

This paper mainly investigates the lag synchronization of complex networks via pinning control. Without assuming the symmetry and irreducibility of the coupling matrix, sufficient conditions of lag synchronization are obtained by adding controllers to a part of nodes. Particularly, the following two questions are solved: (1) How many controllers are needed to pin a coupled complex network to a homogeneous solution? (2) How should we distribute these controllers? Finally, a simple example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theory. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.