Synchronization Stability in Weighted Complex Networks with Coupling Delays

Realistic networks display not only a complex topological structure, but also a heterogeneous distribution of weights in connection strengths. In addition, the information spreading through a complex network is often associated with time delays due to the finite speed of signal transmission over a distance. Hence, the weighted complex network with coupling delays have meaningful implications in real world, and resultantly gains increasing attention in various fields of science and engineering. Based on the theory of asymptotic stability of linear time-delay systems, synchronization stability of the weighted complex dynamical network with coupling delays is investigated, and simple criteria are obtained for both delay-independent and delay-dependent stabilities of synchronization states. The obtained criteria in this paper encompass the established results in the literature as special cases. Some examples are given to illustrate the theoretical results. (general)