The origin of the word synchronization is a greek root, meaning "to share the common time." The original meaning of synchronization has been maintained up to now in the colloquial use of this word, as agreement or correlation in time of different processes. Historically, the analysis of synchronization phenomena in the evolution of dynamical systems has been a subject of active investigation since the earlier days of physics.
Recently, the search for synchronization has moved to chaotic systems. In this latter framework, the appearance of collective (synchronized) dynamics is, in general, not trivial. Indeed, a dynamical system is called chaotic whenever its evolution sensitively depends on the initial conditions. The above said implies that two trajectories emerging from two different closeby initial conditions separate exponentially in the course of the time. As a result, chaotic systems intrinsically defy synchronization, because even two identical systems starting from slightly different initial conditions would evolve in time in a unsynchronized manner (the differences in the systems' states would grow exponentially). This is a relevant practical problem, insofar as experimental initial conditions are never known perfectly. The setting of some collective (synchronized) behavior in coupled chaotic systems has therefore a great importance and interest.
The subject of the present book is to summarize the recent discoveries involving the study of synchronization in coupled chaotic systems.
Not always the word synchronization is taken as having the same colloquial meaning, and one needs to specify what synchrony means in all particular contexts in which we will describe its emergence.
The book describes the complete synchronization phenomenon, both for low and for high dimensional situations, and illustrates possible applications in the field of communicating with chaos.
Furthermore, the book summarizes the concepts of phase synchronization, lag synchronization, imperfect phase synchronization, and generalized synchronization, describing a general transition scenario between a hierarchy of different types of synchronization for chaotic oscillators.
These concepts are extended to the case of structurally different systems, of uncoupled systems subjected to a common external source, of space extended nonlinearly evolving fields, and of dynamical units networking via a complex wiring of connections, giving thus a summary of all possible situations that are encountered in real life and in technology.
.Technical, but not specialistic language
.About 100 illustrative Figures
.Full overview on synchronization phenomena
.Review of the main tools and techniques used in the field
.Paradigmatic examples and experiments illustrating the basic concepts
.Full Reference to the main publications existing in the literature on the subject"

A systematic study of chaotic ray dynamics in underwater acoustic waveguides began in the mid-1990s when it was realized that this factor plays a crucial role in long-range sound propagation in the ocean. The phenomenon of ray chaos and its manifestation at a finite wavelength - wave chaos - have been investigated by combining methods from the theory of wave propagation and the theory of dynamical and quantum chaos.This book is the first monograph summarizing results obtained in this field. Emphasis is made on the exploration of ray and modal structures of the wave field in an idealized environmental model with periodic range dependence and in a more realistic model with sound speed fluctuations induced by random internal waves. The book is intended for acousticians investigating the long-range sound transmission through the fluctuating ocean and also for researchers studying waveguide propagation in other media. It will be of major interest to scientists working in the field of dynamical and quantum chaos.

This book aims to familiarize the reader with the essential properties of the chaotic dynamics of Hamiltonian systems by avoiding specialized mathematical tools, thus making it easily accessible to a broader audience of researchers and students. Unique material on the most intriguing and fascinating topics of unsolved and current problems in contemporary chaos theory is presented. The coverage includes: separatrix chaos; properties and a description of systems with non-ergodic dynamics; the distribution of Poincare recurrences and their role in transport theory; dynamical models of the Maxwell's Demon, the occurrence of persistent fluctuations, and a detailed discussion of their role in the problem underlying the foundation of statistical physics; the emergence of stochastic webs in phase space and their link to space tiling with periodic (crystal type) and aperiodic (quasi-crystal type) symmetries.This second edition expands on pseudochaotic dynamics with weak mixing and the new phenomenon of fractional kinetics, which is crucial to the transport properties of chaotic motion.The book is ideally suited to all those who are actively working on the problems of dynamical chaos as well as to those looking for new inspiration in this area. It introduces the physicist to the world of Hamiltonian chaos and the mathematician to actual physical problems.The material can also be used by graduate students.