Complex Networks
Complex Networks and Synchronization (Speaker: J. Kurths and Y. Zou)
The analysis of complex systems in terms of networks has become an important interdisciplinary topic in the recent years, which provides a modern tool to study spatio-temporal data. Complex networks often have irregular topological structures, therefore, the statistical analysis of the complex wiring architecture reveals the underlying principles, which initiates a revival of network modeling, developing new models to mimic its genuine properties.
As systems, we currently focus on the reconstruction of climate networks by means of nonlinear time series analysis approaches, working closely with scientists from research domain I. We intend to provide a new approach to study the impact of extreme events such as El Ninos, Monsoons or volcanic eruptions on the topology of climate networks, which will allow new insights into the stability of the climate system. Our method may also be valuable to illuminate differences in different climate states of earth's history, e.g. holocene, glacial and cretaceous, and to assess the impact of global warming on the stability of the climate system from a different perspective.
On the other hand, a very important issue in the study of complex systems is the interplay between structure and dynamics. Much attention has been devoted to study the emergence of collective dynamics in complex networks from the viewpoint of relating the propensity for dynamics on a network to the topology and local properties. In particular, one aspect of this interplay is synchronization. Synchronization of oscillators acting on the nodes is one of the widely studied dynamical behavior on complex networks. It has been shown that dynamical processes, like network synchronization, are strongly influenced by the structure of the topology of the underlying network.
Furthermore, in many realistic systems, the feedback of dynamics can reshape the network structures. In this regard, one needs to consider evolving networks under the external influences, for instances, the effect of noise on the system dynamics. In particular, we established some collaborations with research domain II to study the complex dynamics of ecological and socio-economic systems. We plan to simulate scenarios for a climate change (global warming, changing water supply, increased weather extreme events etc.) and the impact of different human activities (e.g. fragmentation of habitats) by means of the complex networks' approaches.
