  Spatially extended dynamical systems, namely coupled map lattices, driven by
additive spatio-temporal noise are shown to exhibit stochastic synchronization.
In analogy with low-dymensional systems, synchronization can be achieved only
if the maximum Lyapunov exponent becomes negative for sufficiently large noise
amplitude. Moreover, noise can suppress also the non-linear mechanism of
information propagation, that may be present in the spatially extended system.
A first example of phase transition is observed when both the linear and the
non-linear mechanisms of information production disappear at the same critical
value of the noise amplitude. The corresponding critical properties can be
hardly identified numerically, but some general argument suggests that they
could be ascribed to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class. Conversely,
when the non-linear mechanism prevails on the linear one, another type of phase
transition to stochastic synchronization occurs. This one is shown to belong to
the universality class of directed percolation.
