On pinning synchronization of complex dynamical networks

There exist some fundamental and yet challenging problems in pinning control of complex networks: (1) What types of pinning schemes may be chosen for a given complex network to realize synchronization? (2) What kinds of controllers may be designed to ensure the network synchronization? (3) How large should the coupling strength be used in a given complex network to achieve synchronization? This paper addresses these technique questions. Surprisingly, it is found that a network under a typical framework can realize synchronization subject to any linear feedback pinning scheme by using adaptive tuning of the coupling strength. In addition, it is found that the nodes with low degrees should be pinned first when the coupling strength is small, which is contrary to the common view that the most-highly-connected nodes should be pinned first. Furthermore, it is interesting to find that the derived pinning condition with controllers given in a high-dimensional setting can be reduced to a low-dimensional condition without the pinning controllers involved. Finally, simulation examples of scale-free networks are given to verify the theoretical results. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.