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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 35: Reaction-Diffusion Systems

DY 35.5: Talk

Thursday, April 3, 2014, 16:00–16:15, HÜL 186

Pattern Formation in BZ-AOT Microemulsions Manipulated by Electric Fields — •Patricia Dähmlow and Stefan C. Müller — Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany

Pattern formation in excitable media presents an important phenomenon in biological morphogenesis, electrophysiology and neuronal systems. A rich variety of these patterns can be found in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction dissolved in the aerosol OT (AOT) water-in-oil microemulsion (ME).

Using the ferroin- and the bathoferroin-catalyzed BZ reaction, we observed different patterns like Turing patterns, dash waves and discontinuously propagating waves (jumping and bubble waves). By applying an electrical field across the spatially extended solution layer, a linear drift of these patterns can be observed. Also the layer thickness of the ME plays an important role in the development of the patterns, since a thick layer (220 µm) leads to a "smearing out" of the patterns whereas in a thin layer (100 µm) the drift can be clearly recognized.

The application of an electric field to the microemulsion reveals changes in a number of physical properties of the medium. We follow the assumption that this system can act as a model system for long range interactions beyond local coupling by diffusion processes, thus presenting a concept which could be applicable to long range interactions between neurons.