We study chaotic synchronization in networks with time-delayed coupling. We introduce the notion of strong and weak chaos, distinguished by the scaling properties of the maximum Lyapunov exponent within the synchronization manifold for large delay times, and relate this to the condition for stable or unstable chaotic synchronization, respectively. In simulations of laser models and experiments with electronic circuits, we identify transitions from weak to strong and back to weak chaos upon monotonically increasing the coupling strength.

Nonlinear networks with time-delayed couplings may show strong and weak chaos, depending on the scaling of their Lyapunov exponent with the delay time. We study strong and weak chaos for semiconductor lasers, either with time-delayed self-feedback or for small networks. We examine the dependence on the pump current and consider the question of whether strong and weak chaos can be identified from the shape of the intensity trace, the autocorrelations, and the external cavity modes. The concept of the sub-Lyapunov exponent λ 0 is generalized to the case of two time-scale-separated delays in the system. We give experimental evidence of strong and weak chaos in a network of lasers, which supports the sequence of weak to strong to weak chaos upon monotonically increasing the coupling strength. Finally, we discuss strong and weak chaos for networks with several distinct sub-Lyapunov exponents and comment on the dependence of the sub-Lyapunov exponent on the number of a laser's inputs in a network.

Networks of nonlinear units with time-delayed couplings can synchronize to a common chaotic trajectory. Although the delay time may be very large, the units can synchronize completely without time shift. For networks of coupled Bernoulli maps, analytic results are derived for the stability of the chaotic synchronization manifold.For a single delay time, chaos synchronization is related to the spectral gap of the coupling matrix. For networks with multiple delay times, analytic results are obtained from the theory of polynomials. Finally, the analytic results are compared with networks of iterated tent maps and Lang-Kobayashi equations which imitate the behaviour of networks of semiconductor lasers.

We study chaotic systems with multiple time delays that range over several orders of magnitude.We show that the spectrum of Lyapunov exponents (LE) in such systems possesses a hierarchical structure, with different parts scaling with the different delays. This leads to different types of chaos, depending on the scaling of the maximal LE. Our results are relevant, in particular, for the synchronization properties of hierarchical networks (networks of networks) where the nodes of subnetworks are coupled with shorter delays and couplings between different subnetworks are realized with longer delay times. Units within a subnetwork can synchronize if the maximal exponent scales with the shorter delay, long range synchronization between different subnetworks is only possible if the maximal exponent scales with the long delay. The results are illustrated analytically for Bernoulli maps and numerically for tent maps.