CELLULAR AUTOMATON MODEL AND MEASUREMENTS OF AUTOWAVE SPLITTING
Alberto P. Muñuzuri, Mario Markus · International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos · 1996
A cellular automaton model — based on a semi-random grid to prevent numerical anisotropies — is adapted to calculate the response of the ruthenium-catalyzed Belouzov–Zhabotinsky reagent to a light pulse. In the automaton, increased light intensity is associated with increased excitation threshold and decreased recovery time. Simulations predict splitting (backfiring) of autowaves, which are experimentally confirmed. Optimization of automaton parameters leads to satisfactory agreement with measurements. In particular, splitting of a spiral leads to its destruction, as it generates and then collides with a spiral of opposite topological charge. Furthermore, splitting leads to soliton-like behavior (conservation) of colliding planar waves.