Wave propagation in heterogeneous bistable and excitable media

Two examples for the propagation of traveling waves in spatially non-uniform media are studied: (a) bistable media with periodically varying excitation threshold and (b) bistable and excitable media with randomly distributed diffusion coefficient and excitation properties. In case (a), we have applied two different singular perturbation techniques, namely averaging (first and second order) and a projection method, to calculate the averaged front velocity as a function of the spatial period L of the heterogeneity for the Schlögl model. Our analysis reveals a velocity overshoot for small values of L and propagation failure for large values of L. The analytical predictions are in good agreement with results of direct numerical simulations. For case (b), effective medium properties are derived by a self-consistent homogenization approach. In particular, the resulting velocities found by direct numerical simulations of the random medium are reproduced well as long as the diffusion lengths in the medium are larger than the heterogeneity scale. Simulations reveal also that complex irregular dynamics can be triggered by heterogeneities.     

Wave propagation in a weakly inhomogeneous medium

We develop an asymptotic method to describe the n-dimensional wave propagation through nonlinear inhomogeneous media characterized by dissipative and (or) dispersive systems of partial differential equations. This method is used to study the bidimensional propagation of surface water waves of varying depth.     

Wave propagation in a one-dimensional randomly perturbed periodic medium

We study the variance of the solution of a periodic randomly perturbed one-dimensional Schrödinger operator after propagation through N periods. It is shown that if the frequency of propagation lies inside the band, then the total variance is proportional to Nσ², where σ is the intensity of the white noise. However, if the wave frequency is close to the band edge (where the transfer matrix has a Jordan block structure), the resulting variance is proportional to Nσ^2/3. Thus, propagation becomes highly sensitive to random perturbations.

Numerical simulations reveal that even low noise in a periodic potential can suppress transmission near the band edges and make it strongly irregular inside the band. Further increase of the noise amplitude leads to intermittent behaviour of the transmission coefficient, and makes transmission possible only for a few random frequencies in the band.     

非均匀可激介质中的螺旋波

以Barkley模型为对象,研究了可激介质的非均匀性对螺旋波斑图形成的影响.该模型中各参数与可激介质的属性密切相关,通过参数涨落的正态分布来刻画非均匀性,数值研究了单参数以及多参数涨落的正态分布情形下螺旋波斑图的形成.研究表明,可激介质的非均匀性对于螺旋波波纹的粗细及疏密程度有较大影响.参数涨落分布的方差越大,形成的螺旋波波纹越粗糙.对于两参数均匀分布的极端情形,当参数分布大于某一范围,无法形成螺旋波.这些都与螺旋波旋转的角频率密切相关.螺旋波旋转的角频率越大,螺旋波波纹越粗,同时波纹越密集;反之,螺旋波 关键词： 螺旋波 非均匀介质 Barkley模型     

Scroll wave instabilities in an excitable chemical medium

Two kinds of scroll wave instabilities were studied experimentally in the excitable Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction: three-dimensional meandering and negative line tension of the scroll wave filament. The filament displays a flat zigzag shape in the initial stages of the experiment. As the chemical medium ages, the filament assumes a wiggly shape while its length increases substantially. Numerical simulations underpin the experimental findings and their interpretation.     

多可激性障碍下的螺旋波动力学

在许多实际可激系统中局部不均匀是广泛存在的, 它们是螺旋波形成以及动力学行为改变的重要因素. 本文研究了可激性障碍对螺旋波动力学行为的影响. 研究表明, 在障碍区域内可激性参数大于区域外情况下障碍会对其附近的螺旋波波头有吸引作用, 多局部障碍共存时吸引行为不仅依赖障碍分布, 而且依赖障碍的大小以及区域内可激性参数的具体取值. 通过抑制变量小值区域的变化分析了这些行为发生的原因. 在障碍区域内可激性参数小于区域外情况下障碍对其近邻的螺旋波波头有排斥作用, 排斥后波头的运动依赖初始螺旋波是刚性旋转的还是漫游的. 多局部障碍共存时排斥作用对螺旋波动力学行为的改变依赖障碍的分布、大小与区域内可激性参数的具体取值以及初始螺旋波的类型. 关键词： 螺旋波 时空混沌 可激性障碍     

Organizing centers in a cellular excitable medium

Excitable media provide much of the subject-matter of physiology, especially of electrophysiology. We simulate excitability in a cubical three-dimensional grid of discrete cells. Topologically distinct organizing centers for self-sustaining rhythmic activity (at period 4) arise from suitable initial conditions. Two are shown: the scroll ring and the linked pair of twisted scroll rings. The first has already been observed in a chemically excitable reagent and possibly in heart muscle; the second, and others of a predicted “periodic table of organizing centers”, remain to be observed outside computers.     

Feedback control of wave segments in an excitable medium

Depending on the excitability of the medium, a propagating wave segment will either contract or expand to fill the medium with spiral waves. This paper aims to introduce a simple mechanism of feedback control to stabilize such an expansion or contraction. To do this, we lay out a feedback control system in a block diagram and reduce it into a bare, universal formula. Analytical and experimental findings are compared through a series of numerical simulations of the Barkley model.     

Chaotic wave trains in an oscillatory/excitable medium

We study the chaotic dynamics of a heterogeneous reaction–diffusion medium composed of two uniform regions: one oscillatory, and the other excitable. It is shown that, by altering the diffusion coefficient, local chaotic oscillations can be induced at the interface between regions, which in turn, generate different chaotic sequences of pulses traveling in the excitable region. We analyze the properties of the local chaotic driver, as well as the diffusion-induced transitions. A procedure based on the abnormal frequency-locking phenomenon is proposed for controlling such sequences. Relevance of the obtained results to cardiac dynamics is briefly discussed.     

A model of wave propagation in an inhomogeneous excitable meduim

Wave propagation in an inhomogeneous excitable medium is modeled by a two-dimensional, multi-state cellular automaton with absorbing boundary conditions. The inhomogeneity of the meduim affects the normal pattern of wave propagation and various phenomena like delayed propagation and circular wave formation are observed. The different types of wave propagation observed in our computer simulations are summarized in a phase diagram and the predictions of the stochastic models for two of the wave propagation phenomena are presented. This system has been suggested as a simple model of the atrioventricular (AV) node.     

On bifurcations in a chaotically stirred excitable medium

We study a one-dimensional filamental model of a chaotically stirred excitable medium. In a numerical simulation we systematically explore its rich bifurcation scenarios involving saddle-nodes, Hopf bifurcations and hysteresis loops. The bifurcations are described in terms of two parameters signifying the excitability of the reacting medium and the strength of the chaotic stirring, respectively. The solution behaviour, in particular at the bifurcation points, is analytically described by means of a nonperturbative variational method. Using this method we reduce the partial differential equations to either algebraic equations for stationary solutions and bifurcations, or to ordinary differential equations in the case of non-stationary solutions and bifurcations. We present numerical simulations corroborating our analytical results.     

Wave propagation along the boundary between a saturated porous medium and a liquid

The frequency dependences of the velocity and attenuation of waves propagating along the boundary between a saturated porous medium and a liquid are investigated. It is shown that, depending on the parameters of the saturated porous medium and the boundary conditions, the propagation of one, two, or three surface waves is possible, each of them being either a true mode or a pseudomode. The results of the study agree well with other investigations carried out in the high-frequency approximation.     

Wave propagation in an anisotropic nickel-based superalloy

The effects of elastic anisotropy on ultrasound propagation in a nickel-based single crystal test component are studied using a 25 MHz focused probe in a water immersion system. Anisotropy gives rise to directionally dependent acoustic wavespeeds, beam steering, acoustic energy focusing and mode conversion for normal incidence. Transverse mode echoes are particularly strong in the vicinity of crystallographic directions in which the Gaussian curvature of the slowness surface is zero and divergence of the echo amplitude is predicted on the basis of the stationary phase approximation. There are other directions where the transverse mode echoes vanish for symmetry reasons. The longitudinal mode echo amplitude also shows significant variation with direction. Overall there is good agreement between the echo signal arrival times and amplitudes we measure and calculation. Progress in applying this technique to gas turbine blades is reported.     

Oscillatory dispersion and coexisting stable pulse trains in an excitable medium

For planar wave trains in excitable media, we found a novel type of anomalous dispersion distinguished by bistable domains in the dependence of the propagation velocity on the wavelength. Within one medium alternative stable pulse trains can coexist having the same wavelength but different velocities. The phenomenon is related to oscillatory recovery of excitations, which causes small amplitude oscillations in the refractory tail of pulses. Crucial for the bistability is that the pulses in the trains are locked into one oscillation maximum in the tail of the preceding pulse in the train.     

Wave propagation in a random medium: The solution of the m-nth moment equation with different wavenumbers

The moment equation with different wavenumbers and different transverse coordinates for wave propagation in a random medium is a linear differential equation. It often appears in the study of problems related to wave propagation in a random medium. The differential equation can be converted into an integral equation by using Green's functions and the integral equation can be solved by iteration. The moment equation is solved by the method of successive scatters, too. The solution of the moment equation is a Dyson expansion. The physical implication of the successive solution of the moment equation with different wavenumbers is explained.     

非对称耦合两层可激发介质中的螺旋波动力学

本文采用Bär-Eiswirth模型研究了两层可激发介质中螺旋波的动力学, 两层介质采用抑制和兴奋性非对称耦合. 数值模拟结果表明: 兴奋性非对称耦合可以促进两个不同频率的螺旋波锁频, 即使初始频率相差大, 两螺旋波也能实现锁频, 这种耦合使两个螺旋波具有最强的锁频能力; 当两层介质采用抑制性非对称耦合时, 只有当两个初始螺旋波的频率差比较小才能实现锁频, 而且比一般扩散耦合的锁频范围窄, 两螺旋波锁频能力达到最低水平; 当耦合强度和控制参数适当选取时, 抑制性和兴奋性非对称耦合既可以使其中一层介质维持螺旋波态, 使另一层介质中的螺旋波演化到静息态或低频靶波态, 也可以使两层介质中的螺旋波都漫游, 或都转变成靶波, 最后这两个靶波要么消失, 要么转变成平面波状的振荡斑图, 而且两层介质振荡是反相的, 此外在模拟中还观察到两螺旋波局部间歇锁频现象, 这些结果有助于人们理解在心脏系统中出现的复杂现象.