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Electric-field-sustained spiral waves in subexcitable media.
Mei-chun Cai1, Jun-ting Pan, Hong Zhang
1Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|September 26, 2012
Summary
An electric field can sustain continuous propagation of broken plane waves in subexcitable media, causing them to evolve into rotating spiral waves. This phenomenon was observed across multiple reaction-diffusion models, confirming numerical and theoretical findings.
Area of Science:
- * Computational Physics
- * Chemical Kinetics
- * Nonlinear Dynamics
Background:
- * Reaction-diffusion systems are crucial for modeling phenomena like wave propagation in excitable media.
- * Understanding wave dynamics in subexcitable media is essential for various scientific fields.
- * Previous research has explored wave propagation but sustained spiral formation in subexcitable media under external fields is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the effect of electric fields on wave propagation in subexcitable media.
- * To determine if broken plane waves can evolve into stable spiral structures.
- * To validate numerical findings with theoretical predictions.
Main Methods:
- * Numerical simulations of reaction-diffusion models: FitzHugh-Nagumo, Barkley, and Oregonator.
- * Introduction of an external electric field to influence wave dynamics.
- * Application of kinematic theory for semianalytical validation.
Main Results:
- * Numerical evidence shows isolated broken plane waves propagate continuously in the presence of an electric field.
- * These waves evolve into stable, rotating spiral patterns.
- * Simulations across different models consistently demonstrate this electric-field-sustained spiral formation.
Conclusions:
- * Electric fields can induce and sustain spiral wave formation from broken plane waves in subexcitable media.
- * The observed phenomena are consistent across multiple established reaction-diffusion models.
- * Semianalytical results support the numerical observations, validating the underlying kinematic theory.
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