Turbulent fronts in resonantly forced oscillatory systems.

Area of Science:

• Complex systems dynamics
• Nonlinear physics
• Reaction-diffusion systems

Background:

• The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation models resonantly forced oscillatory reaction-diffusion systems.
• The study focuses on the Benjamin-Feir-unstable regime of the unforced system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the dynamics of phase fronts in a forced complex Ginzburg-Landau equation at 3:1 resonance.
• To explore the transition from stable to complex front behaviors under varying forcing intensities.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical study of the forced complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.
• Analysis of phase front behavior in one and two-dimensional systems.

Main Results:

• In 1D, strong forcing leads to constant front velocity; decreasing forcing causes bifurcations to oscillatory motion and front multiplication.
• In 2D, turbulent rough fronts with complex internal structures can emerge.
• A nonequilibrium phase transition occurs at a critical forcing intensity, leading to turbulent interface growth.

Conclusions:

• Forced reaction-diffusion systems exhibit rich phase front dynamics, including bifurcations and turbulent behavior.
• The observed phenomena are experimentally accessible using periodically forced light-sensitive reaction-diffusion systems.