Stability of synchronized chaos in coupled dynamical systems

We consider the stability of synchronized chaos in coupled map lattices and in coupled ordinary differential equations. Applying the theory of Hermitian and positive semidefinite matrices we prove two results that give simple bounds on coupling strengths which ensure the stability of synchronized chaos. Previous results in this area involving particular coupling schemes (e.g., global coupling and nearest neighbor diffusive coupling) are included as special cases of the present work. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.