Routes to synchrony between asymmetrically interacting oscillator ensembles.

We report that asymmetrically interacting ensembles of oscillators follow novel routes to synchrony. These routes seem to be a characteristic feature of coupling asymmetry. We show that they are unaffected by white noise except that the entrainment frequencies are shifted. The probability of occurrence of the routes is determined by phase asymmetry. The identification of these phenomena offers new insight into synchrony between oscillator ensembles and suggest new ways in which it may be controlled.