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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Fabrication and Testing of Microfluidic Optomechanical Oscillators

Fabrication and Testing of Microfluidic Optomechanical Oscillators

Published on: May 29, 2014

Resonant and nonresonant patterns in forced oscillators.

Bradley Marts¹, Aric Hagberg, Ehud Meron

¹Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)

|October 4, 2006

Summary

Spatially extended systems exhibit frequency locking with periodic forcing, similar to single oscillators. Pattern formation mechanisms, including phase-front and Turing-like instabilities, modify these Arnold tongues in spatially extended systems.

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Area of Science:

Nonlinear dynamics
Chemical kinetics
Pattern formation

Background:

Uniform oscillations in spatially extended systems can synchronize with external periodic forcing.
This phenomenon is understood through the concept of Arnold tongues in single forced oscillators.
Spatial patterns can influence the dynamics of frequency locking in these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how pattern formation mechanisms affect frequency locking in spatially extended systems.
To understand the role of phase-front instabilities and Turing-like instabilities in modifying Arnold tongues.
To explore these phenomena in both experimental and theoretical models.

Main Methods:

Experimental studies using a light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction with periodic illumination.
Numerical simulations of the FitzHugh-Nagumo model with periodic forcing.
Analytical studies of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with periodic forcing.

Main Results:

Two pattern formation mechanisms were identified that influence frequency locking at half the forcing frequency.
Phase-front instabilities and Turing-like instabilities were shown to modify the Arnold tongues.
Experimental and model studies demonstrated consistent effects of these instabilities on frequency locking.

Conclusions:

Pattern formation plays a crucial role in modulating frequency locking in spatially extended systems.
The identified instabilities provide insights into the complex dynamics of forced oscillatory systems.
This work bridges experimental observations with theoretical models for a comprehensive understanding.