  Many complex networks display strong heterogeneity in the degree
(connectivity) distribution. Heterogeneity in the degree distribution often
reduces the average distance between nodes but, paradoxically, may suppress
synchronization in networks of oscillators coupled symmetrically with uniform
coupling strength. Here we offer a solution to this apparent paradox. Our
analysis is partially based on the identification of a diffusive process
underlying the communication between oscillators and reveals a striking
relation between this process and the condition for the linear stability of the
synchronized states. We show that, for a given degree distribution, the maximum
synchronizability is achieved when the network of couplings is weighted and
directed, and the overall cost involved in the couplings is minimum. This
enhanced synchronizability is solely determined by the mean degree and does not
depend on the degree distribution and system size. Numerical verification of
the main results is provided for representative classes of small-world and
scale-free networks.
