Self-synchronization of the integrate-and-fire pacemaker model with continuous couplings

The integrate-and-fire cardiac pacemaker model of the pulse coupled oscillators was introduced by C. Peskin. Due to the function of the pacemaker, two famous synchronization conjectures for identical and not identical oscillators were formulated. There are still many issues related to the nature and types of couplings. The couplings may be impulsive, continuous, delayed or advanced, and oscillators may be locally or globally connected. Consequently, it is reasonable to consider various ways of synchronization, if one wants the biological and mathematical analyses to interact productively. We investigate the integrate-and-fire model in both cases–one with identical, and another with not quite identical oscillators. A combination of continuous and pulse couplings that sustain the firing in unison is carefully constructed. Moreover, we obtain conditions on the parameters of continuous couplings that make possible a rigorous mathematical investigation of the problem. The technique developed for differential equations with discontinuities at non-fixed moments and a special continuous map lies on the basis of the analysis. This is the first analytically derived synchronization result for a model with continuous couplings. Illustrative examples are provided.