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Updated: May 14, 2026

Drawing and Hydrophobicity-patterning Long Polydimethylsiloxane Silicone Filaments
Published on: January 7, 2019
Helical deformation of the filament of a scroll wave
Dennis Kupitz1, Marcus J B Hauser
1Institut für Experimentelle Physik, Abteilung Biophysik, Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany.
Abstract:
In three-dimensional excitable systems scroll waves may lose their originally straight shape through different instabilities. In experiments, the formation of zigzag-shaped or helical filaments is often observed. Such a deformation may be due to either a twist-induced instability or a 3D meandering instability. We performed a systematic study using a Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) system with a vertical gradient of excitability and determined the necessary twist for the onset of undulation in the filament. Thus, we demonstrate that in the case of a BZ system with a gradient parallel to the filament, the deformation of the filament is induced by a twist-induced instability.
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