Universal pathwise critical coupling conjecture for the Winfree model

Let Ω=ω1,,ωNRN\Omega=\\{\omega_1,\cdots,\omega_N\\}\in \mathbb{R}^N be a frequency vector, and let Θ0=θ10,,θN0\Theta^0=\\{\theta_1^0,\cdots,\theta_N^0\\} be an initial phase vector. Define the critical coupling strength κc(Ω)\kappa_{\mathrm{c}}(\Omega) and pathwise critical coupling strength κpc(Θ0,Ω)\kappa_{\mathrm{pc}}(\Theta^0,\Omega) as the infima of the coupling thresholds above which the Winfree system admits an equilibrium and the solution from Θ0\Theta^0 converges, respectively. Universal pathwise coupling conjecture. There exists a universal constant c>0c>0 such that

κpc(Θ0,Ω)cmaxi=1,,Nωi,Θ0=θ10,,θN0RN, Ω=ω1,,ωNRN.\kappa_{\mathrm{pc}}(\Theta^0,\Omega)\le c\max_{i=1,\cdots,N}|\omega_i|,\quad \forall \Theta^0=\\{\theta^0_1,\cdots,\theta^0_N\\}\in \mathbb{R}^N,~\forall \Omega=\\{\omega_1,\cdots,\omega_N\\}\in \mathbb{R}^N.

The theorem cited in the source establishes the analogous bound for almost every initial phase vector, while this conjecture asks for a uniform bound over every initial phase vector and frequency vector; the source gives no resolution.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Seung-Yeon Ryoo, “On oscillator death in the Winfree model”, arXiv:2601.01203 (2026).

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