Higher-order interactions enhance stochastic resonance in coupled oscillators

Most previous studies on stochastic resonance (SR) have focused on networks with pairwise interactions, neglecting the significant influence of higher-order interactions on collective behaviors. In this work, we investigate the SR of a coupled array of bistable oscillators with higher-order interactions. Our results show that higher-order interactions enhance both temporal SR and spatial synchronization among the oscillators. Although pairwise coupling can enhance SR, this enhancement diminishes once the pairwise coupling strength becomes excessively strong. We demonstrate that even under excessively strong higher-order coupling strength, higher-order interactions can continuously enhance SR within the parameter range we examined. The ability of higher-order interactions to provide sustained enhancement is attributed to the nonlinear components embedded in the higher-order coupling, which inhibit the oscillators from entering identical synchronization at large coupling strengths. We also find that the coupling radius has a noticeable influence on SR, where a larger radius generally produces stronger resonance. In addition, we identify a finite-size effect present in both pairwise and higher-order couplings, whereby the enhancement of SR is maximized when the network size is moderate, neither too large nor too small. Our results offer potential insights into the propagation of weak signals in higher-order networks.