Rich-club network topology to minimize synchronization cost due to phase difference among frequency-synchronized oscillators

As exemplified by power grids and large-scale brain networks, some functions of networks consisting of phase oscillators rely on not only frequency synchronization, but also phase synchronization among the oscillators. Nevertheless, even after the oscillators reach frequency-synchronized status, the phase synchronization is not always accomplished because the phase difference among the oscillators is often trapped at non-zero constant values. Such phase difference potentially results in inefficient transfer of power or information among the oscillators, and avoids proper and efficient functioning of the networks. In the present study, we newly define synchronization cost by using the phase difference among the frequency-synchronized oscillators, and investigate the optimal network structure with the minimum synchronization cost through rewiring-based optimization. By using the Kuramoto model, we demonstrate that the cost is minimized in a network with a rich-club topology, which comprises the densely-connected center nodes and low-degree peripheral nodes connecting with the center module. We also show that the network topology is characterized by its bimodal degree distribution, which is quantified by Wolfson’s polarization index.