We discuss control techniques for noisy self-sustained oscillators with a
focus on reliability, stability of the response to noisy driving, and
oscillation coherence understood in the sense of constancy of oscillation
frequency. For any kind of linear feedback control--single and multiple delay
feedback, linear frequency filter, etc.--the phase diffusion constant,
quantifying coherence, and the Lyapunov exponent, quantifying reliability, can
be efficiently controlled but their ratio remains constant. Thus, an
"uncertainty principle" can be formulated: the loss of reliability occurs when
coherence is enhanced and, vice versa, coherence is weakened when reliability
is enhanced. Treatment of this principle for ensembles of oscillators
synchronized by common noise or global coupling reveals a substantial
difference between the cases of slightly non-identical oscillators and
identical ones with intrinsic noise.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
