Unusual spiral wave tip trajectories in a parametrically forced nonequilibrium system

Abstract

The effect of parametric modulations on spiral waves that form in a thin layer of liquid crystal under rotating magnetic field is studied in laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. Parametric forcings that are sinusoidal in time make a simply rotating spiral tip to meander, rendering a compound tip trajectory that is composed of a main circular orbit and a satellite orbit with an unusual crescent shape. No evidence of frequency locking is found. The underlying mechanism for the unusual shape of the satellite orbit is elucidated, and the dependence of the rotation frequency of the main circular orbit f(o) on the perturbation parameters are discussed.

Resonance drifts of spiral waves on media of periodic excitability

“…They display many drift behaviors with different external fields, i.e., illumination [8], electric fields [9–14], and magnetic fields [15]. In particular, under external forcing by periodic light pulses and feedback-controlled sequences of light pulses, spiral wave entrainment and resonance can be observed [16,17].…”

Dynamics of Spiral Waves under Phase Feedback Control in a Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction

“…Propagating spiral waves are self-sustaining disturbances found in a wide variety of physical [1,2], chemical [3], and biological [4 -6] systems known as excitable. One of the intriguing but still poorly understood characteristics of these ubiquitous spiral waves is that the motion of the spiral tips can exhibit complex behavior [7][8][9].…”