Two distinct mechanisms of coherence in randomly perturbed dynamical systems

We carefully examine two mechanisms--coherence resonance and self-induced stochastic resonance--by which small random perturbations of excitable systems with large time scale separation may lead to the emergence of new coherent behaviors in the form of limit cycles. We analyze what controls the degree of coherence in these two mechanisms and classify their very different properties. In particular we show that coherence resonance arises only at the onset of bifurcation and is rather insensitive against variations in the noise amplitude and the time scale separation ratio. In contrast, self-induced stochastic resonance may arise away from bifurcations and the properties of the limit cycle it induces are controlled by both the noise amplitude and the time scale separation ratio.