Desynchronization Waves and Localized Instabilities in Oscillator Arrays

We consider a ring of identical or near-identical coupled periodic oscillators in which the connections have randomly heterogeneous strength. We use the master stability function method to determine the possible patterns at the desynchronization transition that occurs as the coupling strengths are increased. We demonstrate Anderson localization of the modes of instability and show that such localized instability generates waves of desynchronization that spread to the whole array. Similar results should apply to other networks with regular topology and heterogeneous connection strengths.