Pattern formation on the edge of chaos: mathematical modeling of CO oxidation on a Pt(110) surface under global delayed feedback

Energy exchange in globally coupled mechanical phase oscillators

We study the stationary dynamics of energy exchange in an ensemble of phase oscillators, coupled through a mean-field mechanical interaction and added with friction and an external periodic excitation. The degree of entrainment between different parts of the ensemble and the external forcing determines three dynamical regimes, each of them characterized by specific rates of energy exchange. Using suitable approximations, we are able to obtain analytical expressions for those rates, which are in satisfactory agreement with results from numerical integration of the equations of motion. In some of the dynamical regimes, the rates of energy exchange show nontrivial dependence on the friction coefficients-in particular, nonmonotonic behavior and sign switching. This suggests that, even in this kind of stylized model, power transfer between different parts of the ensemble and to the environment can be manipulated by a convenient choice of the individual oscillator parameters.

Emergence of localized patterns in globally coupled networks of relaxation oscillators with heterogeneous connectivity

Oscillations in far-from-equilibrium systems (e.g., chemical, biochemical, biological) are generated by the nonlinear interplay of positive and negative feedback effects operating at different time scales. Relaxation oscillations emerge when the time scales between the activators and the inhibitors are well separated. In addition to the large-amplitude oscillations (LAOs) or relaxation type, these systems exhibit small-amplitude oscillations (SAOs) as well as abrupt transitions between them (canard phenomenon). Localized cluster patterns in networks of relaxation oscillators consist of one cluster oscillating in the LAO regime or exhibiting mixed-mode oscillations (LAOs interspersed with SAOs), while the other oscillates in the SAO regime. Because the individual oscillators are monostable, localized patterns are a network phenomenon that involves the interplay of the connectivity and the intrinsic dynamic properties of the individual nodes. Motivated by experimental and theoretical results on the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, we investigate the mechanisms underlying the generation of localized patterns in globally coupled networks of piecewise-linear relaxation oscillators where the global feedback term affects the rate of change of the activator (fast variable) and depends on the weighted sum of the inhibitor (slow variable) at any given time. We also investigate whether these patterns are affected by the presence of a diffusive type of coupling whose synchronizing effects compete with the symmetry-breaking global feedback effects.

Swing, release, and escape mechanisms contribute to the generation of phase-locked cluster patterns in a globally coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo model

We investigate the mechanism of generation of phase-locked cluster patterns in a globally coupled FitzhHugh-Nagumo model where the fast variable (activator) receives global feedback from the slow variable (inhibitor). We identify three qualitatively different mechanisms (swing-and-release, hold-and-release, and escape-and-release) that contribute to the generation of these patterns. We describe these mechanisms and use this framework to explain under what circumstances two initially out-of-phase oscillatory clusters reach steady phase-locked and in-phase synchronized solutions, and how the phase difference between these steady state cluster patterns depends on the clusters relative size, the global coupling intensity, and other model parameters.

Dynamics of one- and two-dimensional fronts in a bistable equation with time-delayed global feedback: Propagation failure and control mechanisms

We study the evolution of fronts in a bistable equation with time-delayed global feedback in the fast reaction and slow diffusion regime. This equation generalizes the Hodgkin-Grafstein and Allen-Cahn equations. We derive a nonlinear equation governing the motion of fronts, which includes a term with delay. In the one-dimensional case this equation is linear. We study the motion of one- and two-dimensional fronts, finding a much richer dynamics than for the previously studied cases (without time-delayed global feedback). We explain the mechanism by which localized fronts created by inhibitory global coupling loose stability in a Hopf bifurcation as the delay time increases. We show that for certain delay times, the prevailing phase is different from that corresponding to the system in the absence of global coupling. Numerical simulations of the partial differential equation are in agreement with the analytical predictions.

Theoretical analysis of defect-mediated turbulence in a catalytic surface reaction

We present a statistical analysis of defect-mediated turbulence in a kinetic model of catalytic CO oxidation on Pt(110). A probabilistic description based on the gain and loss rates of defects is derived. For low values of the CO partial pressure the statistics of topological defects agree with earlier results for the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. For high values of the CO partial pressure, we observe an additional autocatalytic reproduction of defects that results in a linear dependence of the defect creation rate on the number of defects in the system. The role of correlations between defects of opposite topological charge was found to be weaker than in the experimental system.

Feedback control of subcritical Turing instability with zero mode

A global feedback control of a system that exhibits a subcritical monotonic instability at a nonzero wave number (short-wave or Turing instability) in the presence of a zero mode is investigated using a Ginzburg-Landau equation coupled to an equation for the zero mode. This system is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that feedback control, based on measuring the maximum of the pattern amplitude over the domain, can stabilize the system and lead to the formation of localized unipulse stationary states or traveling solitary waves. It is found that the unipulse traveling structures result from an instability of the stationary unipulse structures when one of the parameters characterizing the coupling between the periodic pattern and the zero mode exceeds a critical value that is determined by the zero mode damping coefficient.

Suppression of spatiotemporal chaos in the oscillatory CO oxidation on Pt(110) by focused laser light

Chemical turbulence in the oscillatory catalytic CO oxidation on Pt(110) is suppressed by means of focused laser light. The laser locally heats the platinum surface which leads to a local increase of the oscillation frequency, and to the formation of a pacemaker which emits target waves. These waves slowly entrain the medium and suppress the spatiotemporal chaos present in the absence of laser light. Our experimental results are confirmed by a detailed numerical analysis of one- and two-dimensional media using the Krischer-Eiswirth-Ertl model for CO oxidation on Pt(110). Different control regimes are identified and the dispersion relation of the system is determined using the pacemaker as an externally tunable wave source.

Introduction to focus issue: mixed mode oscillations: experiment, computation, and analysis

Mixed mode oscillations (MMOs) occur when a dynamical system switches between fast and slow motion and small and large amplitude. MMOs appear in a variety of systems in nature, and may be simple or complex. This focus issue presents a series of articles on theoretical, numerical, and experimental aspects of MMOs. The applications cover physical, chemical, and biological systems.

Control of spatiotemporal chaos in catalytic CO oxidation by laser-induced pacemakers

Control of spatiotemporal chaos is achieved in the catalytic oxidation of CO on Pt(110) by localized modification of the kinetic properties of the surface chemical reaction. In the experiment, a small temperature heterogeneity is created on the surface by a focused laser beam. This heterogeneity constitutes a pacemaker and starts to emit target waves. These waves slowly entrain the medium and suppress the spatiotemporal chaos that is present in the absence of control. We compare this experimental result with a numerical study of the Krischer-Eiswirth-Ertl model for CO oxidation on Pt(110). We confirm the experimental findings and identify regimes where complete and partial controls are possible.

Control and synchronization of spatiotemporal chaos

Chaos control methods for the Ginzburg-Landau equation are presented using homogeneously, inhomogeneously, and locally applied multiple delayed feedback signals. In particular, it is shown that a small number of control cells is sufficient for stabilizing plane waves or for trapping spiral waves, and that successful control is closely connected to synchronization of the dynamics in regions close to the control cells.

Pattern transitions induced by delay feedback

Modulated by delay feedback (DF), a reaction-diffusion system is destabilized and undergoes pattern transitions in the parametric region where the undelayed system spontaneously exhibits a bulk oscillation. By varying the feedback parameters, oscillatory hexagon superlattices and stripes, as well as stationary hexagons are observed. Meanwhile, the hexagon superlattices with different wavelengths are found under appropriate feedback parameters. It is demonstrated that, since the DF induces an instability of homogeneous limit cycle with respect to spatial perturbations, the patterns possessing the corresponding spatial modes are formed. Instead of stabilizing the system, here the DF may play a role of destabilization.

Stability and nonlinear dynamics of solitary waves generated by subcritical oscillatory instability under the action of feedback control

We consider the influence of global feedback control which acts on an oscillatory system governed by a subcritical Ginzburg-Landau equation. Exact solutions corresponding to solitary-wave solutions are obtained. A generalized variational approach is applied for the simplification of the whole problem and its reduction to a finite-dimensional dynamical model. The finite-dimensional evolution model is used for studying the indirect interaction between solitary waves caused by the global control. The stability analysis is held in the framework of the finite-dimensional model. The boundaries of monotonic and oscillatory instabilities are obtained. The basic types of dynamics provided by the finite-dimensional model are described and compared with the results of a direct numerical simulation of the original equation.

Global feedback control for pattern-forming systems

Global feedback control of pattern formation in a wide class of systems described by the Swift-Hohenberg (SH) equation is investigated theoretically, by means of stability analysis and numerical simulations. Two cases are considered: (i) feedback control of the competition between hexagon and roll patterns described by a supercritical SH equation, and (ii) the use of feedback control to suppress the blowup in a system described by a subcritical SH equation. In case (i), it is shown that feedback control can change the hexagon and roll stability regions in the parameter space as well as cause a transition from up to down hexagons and stabilize a skewed (mixed-mode) hexagonal pattern. In case (ii), it is demonstrated that feedback control can suppress blowup and lead to the formation of spatially localized patterns in the weakly nonlinear regime. The effects of a delayed feedback are also investigated for both cases, and it is shown that delay can induce temporal oscillations as well as blowup.

Controlling spatiotemporal chaos using multiple delays

A control method for manipulating spatiotemporal chaos is presented using lumped local feedback with several different delay times. As illustrated with the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau and the Fitzhugh-Nagumo equation this method can, for example, be used to convert chaotic spiral waves into guided plane waves and for trapping spiral waves.

Front Waves in the NO + NH3 Reaction on Pt{100}

In the present work, we spatially extended a brand new kinetic mechanism of the NO + NH3 reaction on Pt{100} to simulate the experimentally observed spatiotemporal traveling waves. The kinetic mechanism developed by Irurzun, Mola, and Imbihl (IMI model) improves the former model developed by Lombardo, Fink, and Imbihl (LFI model) by replacing several elementary steps to take into account experimental evidence published since the LFI model appeared. The IMI model achieves a better agreement with the experimentally observed dependence of the oscillation period on temperature. In the present work, the IMI model is extended by considering Fickean diffusion and coupling via the gas phase. Traveling waves propagating across the surface are obtained at realistic values of temperature and partial pressure. A transition from amplitude to phase waves is observed, induced either by temperature or by the gas global coupling strength. The traveling waves simulated in the present work are not associated with fixed defects, in agreement with experimental evidence of spiral centers capable of moving on the surface. Also, the IMI model adequately predicts the presence of macroscopic oscillations in the partial pressures of the reactants coexisting with front wave patterns on the surface.

Feedback control of subcritical oscillatory instabilities

Feedback control of a subcritical oscillatory instability is investigated in the framework of a globally-controlled complex Ginzburg-Landau equation that describes the nonlinear dynamics near the instability threshold. The control is based on a feedback loop between the system linear growth rate and the maximum of the amplitude of the emerging pattern. It is shown that such control can suppress the blow up and result in the formation of spatially localized pulses similar to oscillons. In the one-dimensional case, depending on the values of the linear and nonlinear dispersion coefficients, several types of the pulse dynamics are possible in which the computational domain contains: (i) a single stationary pulse; (ii) several coexisting stationary pulses; (iii) competing pulses that appear one after another at random locations so that at each moment of time there is only one pulse in the domain; (iv) spatiotemporally chaotic system of short pulses; (v) spatially-synchronized pulses. Similar dynamic behavior is found also in the two-dimensional case. The effect of the feedback delay is also studied. It is shown that the increase of the delay leads to an oscillatory instability of the pulses and the formation of pulses with oscillating amplitude.

Front explosion in a periodically forced surface reaction

Resonantly forced oscillatory reaction-diffusion systems can exhibit fronts with complicated interfacial structure separating phase-locked homogeneous states. For values of the forcing amplitude below a critical value the front "explodes" and the width of the interfacial zone grows without bound. Such front explosion phenomena are investigated for a realistic model of catalytic CO oxidation on a Pt(110) surface in the 2:1 and 3:1 resonantly forced regimes. In the 2:1 regime, the fronts are stationary and the front explosion leads to a defect-mediated turbulent state. In the 3:1 resonantly forced system, the fronts propagate. The front velocity tends to zero as the front explosion point is reached and the final asymptotic state is a 2:1 resonantly locked labyrinthine pattern. The front dynamics described here should be observable in experiment since the model has been shown to capture essential features of the CO oxidation reaction.

On one dimensional chemical diode and frequency generator constructed with an excitable surface reaction

The oxidation of carbon monoxide on a Pt(110) surface is considered as a medium for chemical information processing in which bits of information are represented by traveling pulses of high oxygen coverage. Using numerical simulations for a model of CO oxidation we demonstrate that in such system one dimensional chemical signal diode can be realized by setting a proper profile of temperature. We also show that a pulse splitting can occur on a temperature inhomogeneity. The phenomenon of pulse splitting can be used to construct one dimensional generator of a train of pulses with adjustable frequency.

Moving waves and spatiotemporal patterns due to weak thermal effects in models of catalytic oxidation

We analyze the behavior of a microkinetic model of a catalytic reaction coupled with weak enthalpy effects to show that under fixed gas-phase concentrations it can produce moving waves with an intrinsic length scale, when the underlying kinetics is oscillatory. The kinetic model incorporates dissociative oxygen adsorption, reactant adsorption and desorption, and surface reaction. Three typical patterns may emerge in a one-dimensional system (a long wire or a ring): homogeneous oscillations, a family of moving waves propagating with constant velocities, and patterns with multiple source/sink points. Pattern selection depends on the ratio of the system length to the intrinsic wave length and the governing parameters. We complement these analysis with simulations that revealed a plethora of patterned states on one- and two-dimensional systems (a disk or a cylinder). This work shows that weak long-range coupling due to high feed rates maintains such patterns, while low feed rates or strong long-range interaction can gradually suppress the emerging patterns.

Pattern formation for NO+NH3 on Pt(100): two-dimensional numerical results

The Lombardo-Fink-Imbihl model of the NO+NH3 reaction on a Pt(100) surface consists of seven coupled ordinary differential equations (ODE) and shows stable relaxation oscillations with sharp transitions in the relevant temperature range. Here we study numerically the effect of coupling of these oscillators by surface diffusion in two dimensions. We find different types of patterns, in particular phase clusters and standing waves. In models of related surface reactions such clustered solutions are known to exist only under a global coupling through the gas phase. This global coupling is replaced here by relatively fast diffusion of two variables which are kinetically slaved in the ODE. We also compare our simulations with experimental results and discuss some shortcomings of the model.

Manipulation of surface reaction dynamics by global pressure and local temperature control: a model study

Specific catalyst design and external manipulation of surface reactions by controlling accessible physical or chemical parameters may be of great benefit for improving catalytic efficiencies and energetics, product yield, and selectivities in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Studying a realistic spatiotemporal one-dimensional model for CO oxidation on Pt(110) we demonstrate the value and necessity of mathematical modeling and advanced numerical methods for directed external multiparameter control of surface reaction dynamics. At the model stage we show by means of optimal control techniques that species coverages can be adjusted to desired values, aperiodic oscillatory behavior for distinct coupled reaction sites can be synchronized, and overall reaction rates can be optimized by varying the surface temperature in space and time and the CO and O2 gas phase partial pressure with time. The control aims are formulated as objective functionals to be minimized which contain a suitable mathematical formulation for the deviation from the desired system behavior. The control functions pCO(t) (CO partial pressure), pO2(t) (O2 partial pressure), and T(x,t) (surface temperature distribution) are numerically computed by a specially tailored optimal control method based on a direct multiple shooting approach which is suitable to cope with the highly nonlinear unstable mode character of the CO oxidation model.

Dynamic control and information processing in chemical reaction systems by tuning self-organization behavior

Specific external control of chemical reaction systems and both dynamic control and signal processing as central functions in biochemical reaction systems are important issues of modern nonlinear science. For example nonlinear input-output behavior and its regulation are crucial for the maintainance of the life process that requires extensive communication between cells and their environment. An important question is how the dynamical behavior of biochemical systems is controlled and how they process information transmitted by incoming signals. But also from a general point of view external forcing of complex chemical reaction processes is important in many application areas ranging from chemical engineering to biomedicine. In order to study such control issues numerically, here, we choose a well characterized chemical system, the CO oxidation on Pt(110), which is interesting per se as an externally forced chemical oscillator model. We show numerically that tuning of temporal self-organization by input signals in this simple nonlinear chemical reaction exhibiting oscillatory behavior can in principle be exploited for both specific external control of dynamical system behavior and processing of complex information.

Control of Turing pattern formation by delayed feedback

The effect of the global delayed feedback technique on Turing pattern formation is investigated in the modified Lengyel-Epstein two-variable model. Feedback intensity, delay time, and feedback-imposing time (the period of time that feedback is present in the system) are all found to be of significant influence on Turing pattern formation time. Under appropriate parameter settings, delayed feedback could suppress or induce the Turing pattern if the feedback intensity is strong enough.

Onset of collective oscillation in chemical turbulence under global feedback

Preceding the complete suppression of chemical turbulence by means of global feedback, a different universal type of transition, which is characterized by the emergence of small-amplitude collective oscillation with strong turbulent background, is shown to occur at much weaker feedback intensity. We illustrate this fact numerically in combination with a phenomenological argument based on the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with global feedback.

Pattern formation on the edge of chaos: experiments with CO oxidation on a Pt(110) surface under global delayed feedback

Experiments with catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide on Pt(110) show that chemical turbulence in this system can be suppressed by application of appropriate global delayed feedback. Different spatiotemporal patterns, seen near the transition from turbulence to uniform oscillations, are investigated. Such patterns include intermittent turbulence, oscillatory standing waves, cellular structures, and phase clusters. Using a method based on the Hilbert transform, spatial distributions of local phase and amplitude in these patterns are reconstructed from the experimental data.