Synchronization of Coupled Boolean Phase Oscillators

We design, characterize, and couple Boolean phase oscillators that include state-dependent feedback delay. The state-dependent delay allows us to realize an adjustable coupling strength, even though only Boolean signals are exchanged. Specifically, increasing the coupling strength via the range of state-dependent delay leads to larger locking ranges in uni- and bi-directional coupling of oscillators in both experiment and numerical simulation with a piecewise switching model. In the unidirectional coupling scheme, we unveil asymmetric triangular-shaped locking regions (Arnold tongues) that appear at multiples of the natural frequency of the oscillators. This extends observations of a single locking region reported in previous studies. In the bidirectional coupling scheme, we map out a symmetric locking region in the parameter space of frequency detuning and coupling strength. Because of large scalability of our setup, our observations constitute a first step towards realizing large-scale networks of coupled oscillators to address fundamental questions on the dynamical properties of networks in a new experimental setting.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Constituting Democracy

This is the text of The Lindley Lecture for 1989, given by David Gauthier, a Canadian philosopher

RUMS: Research for Undergraduates in Math and Science

Chair: Dr. David Gauthier, Department of Biological Sciences Presenters: Elizabeth Smith, Jessica Vincent, Amarilis Dyer, Amy Johnson, Joseph Brow

Undergraduate Research in Biology: Aquatic

Chair: Dr. David Gauthier, Department of Biological Science