Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 62: Poster - Dynamics

DY 62.20: Poster

Thursday, March 19, 2015, 16:00–18:00, Poster A

Traveling waves: orientational and reflection effects induced by sudden control parameter changes — •Fabian Bergmann and Walter Zimmermann — Theoretische Physik, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth

Traveling wave (TW) patterns are observed in many nonequilibrium systems, including chemical reactions [1, 2] or biological systems. In light-sensitive chemical reaction-diffusion systems or in certain biological systems [3] the respective control parameter can be suddenly changed from beyond to below critical.

We reveal some generic phenomena induced by such control parameter steps in one and two dimensions. In 2d we find an orientational effect of the step on TWs, where the waves orientate with their propagation direction perpendicular to the step. This behavior has also been found in a recent experiment.

If we restrict our system to one spatial dimension, a sudden control parameter drop from beyond to below threshold has consequences similar to suppressing boundary conditions [4]. Depending on the length scale of the control parameter change or on the group velocity of the TWs we can switch between TWs in the supercritical range to so-called blinking states, where the envelope of TWs changes as a function of time.

[1] M. Dolnik, A. R. Rovinsky, A. M. Zhabotinsky, I. R. Epstein, J. Phys. Chem. A 103, 38 (1999) [2] V. Vanag and I. R. Epstein, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 228301 (2001) [3] J. Schweizer, M. Loose, M. Bonny, K. Kruse, I. Münch, P. Schwille, PNAS 109, 15382 (2012) [4] M. C. Cross, Phys. Rev. A 38, 3593 (1988)