Adaptive lag synchronization in coupled chaotic systems with unidirectional delay feedback

Lag synchronization in unidirectionally coupled chaotic systems is investigated in this paper. Based on the invariance principle of differential equations, a new adaptive delay feedback scheme is proposed to realize the lag synchronization effectively in the coupled chaotic systems. As an example, numerical simulations for the coupled Hindmarsh–Rose (HR) neuron models are conducted, which is in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. More interestingly, it is found that there is a fine U-shaped structure in the lag synchronization curve for the HR neuron model. Furthermore, lag synchronization and the corresponding U-shaped structure are robust against the small mismatch of parameters and noisy disturbances.