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Spatiotemporal irregularity in an excitable medium with shear flow.
V N Biktashev1, I V Biktasheva, A V Holden
1School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Summary
Shear flow in excitable media creates complex "frazzle gas" patterns. Spiral waves break and regenerate, leading to a chain reaction that fills the entire medium.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear Dynamics
- Complex Systems
- Chemical Kinetics
Background:
- Excitable media exhibit wave propagation phenomena, such as spiral waves.
- Shear flow can significantly alter the dynamics of patterns in physical systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of relative shear on spiral wave dynamics in an excitable medium.
- To analyze the formation and characteristics of the resulting complex spatiotemporal pattern, termed 'frazzle gas'.
Main Methods:
- Simulations of an excitable medium subjected to a localized disturbance under shear flow.
- Observation and interpretation of the emergent spatiotemporal patterns and spiral wave behavior.
Main Results:
- Localized disturbances generate spiral waves that are distorted and broken by shear flow.
- Spiral wave fragmentation triggers a chain reaction of new wave births and deaths.
- A complex, space-filling pattern known as 'frazzle gas' emerges from this process.
Conclusions:
- Shear flow in excitable media leads to the breakdown of organized spiral waves.
- This breakdown results in a chaotic but deterministic pattern ('frazzle gas') that fills the medium.
- The study provides insights into pattern formation in driven complex systems.