Synergetic behavior in the cascading failure propagation of scale-free coupled map lattices

In this paper, the whole dynamical process of cascading failures in a class of scale-free coupled map lattices (CML's), from the occurrence of attack to the end of failure propagation, is investigated. A dynamical model of cascading failures, based on synergetic theory, is constructed. Numerical simulations show that the macroscopic properties of the scale-free CML's during cascading failure propagation are governed by the general laws of synergetics. This result will be useful in furthering the studies of the prediction and prevention of cascading events in many real-life complex networks.