Several systems of physical and biological interest can be described as self-sustained oscillators, which keep their oscillatory behavior using an external energy supply. From the dynamical point of view, the behavior of such systems can be described by means of a stable limit cycle in phase space, on which the motion can be parameterized by a phase with a given natural frequency. In this work we investigate the time-periodic external forcing acting on this kind of system, emphasizing frequency synchronization, phase locking and generalized synchronization. A one-dimensional mapping is obtained in order to extend the general mathematical treatment - which supposes weak forcing - for the case of strong forcing.
Keywords:
oscillators; synchronization; phase; forcing
