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Period doubling in a periodically forced Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction
Bradley Marts1, David J W Simpson, Aric Hagberg
1Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems and Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
Abstract:
Using an open-flow reactor periodically perturbed with light, we observe subharmonic frequency locking of the oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction at one-sixth the forcing frequency (6:1) over a region of the parameter space of forcing intensity and forcing frequency where the Farey sequence dictates we should observe one-third the forcing frequency (3:1). In this parameter region, the spatial pattern also changes from slowly moving traveling waves to standing waves with a smaller wavelength. Numerical simulations of the FitzHugh-Nagumo equations show qualitative agreement with the experimental observations and indicate that the oscillations in the experiment are a result of period doubling.
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