Synchronization phenomena are of broad interest across disciplines and increasingly of interest in a multiplex network setting. For the multiplex network of coupled Rössler oscillators, here we show how the master stability function, a celebrated framework for analyzing synchronization on a single network, can be extended to certain classes of multiplex networks with different intralayer and interlayer coupling functions. We derive three master stability equations that determine, respectively, the necessary regions of complete synchronization, intralayer synchronization, and interlayer synchronization. We calculate these three regions explicitly for the case of a two-layer network of Rössler oscillators and show that the overlap of the regions determines the type of synchronization achieved. In particular, if the interlayer or intralayer coupling function is such that the interlayer or intralayer synchronization region is empty, complete synchronization cannot be achieved regardless of the coupling strength. Furthermore, for any network structure, the occurrence of intralayer and interlayer synchronization depends mainly on the coupling functions of nodes within a layer and across layers, respectively. Our mathematical analysis requires that the intralayer and interlayer supra-Laplacians commute. But, we show this is only a sufficient, and not necessary, condition and that the results can be applied more generally.
