Robust synchronization in networks of cyclic feedback systems

This paper presents a result on the robust synchronization of outputs of statically interconnected non-identical cyclic feedback systems that are used to model, among other processes, gene expression. The result uses incremental versions of the small gain theorem and dissipativity theory to arrive at an upper bound on the norm of the synchronization error between corresponding states, giving a measure of the degree of convergence of the solutions. This error bound is shown to be a function of the difference between the parameters of the interconnected systems, and disappears in the case where the systems are identical, thus retrieving an earlier synchronization result.