Complex temporal and spatial patterns in nonequilibrium systems

Dynamical systems methods are being developed and used to characterize the formation and evolution of temporal and spatial patterns in systems maintained far from equilibrium. In particular, experiments and analyses are considering electrodeposition of fractal metallic clusters, pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems, and the primary instabilities of some fluid flows. Novel reactors have been developed to search for chemical patterns (spatial variations in the chemical composition), and sustained patterns have been found in several different one- and two-dimensional geometries. Bifurcations in these patterns are studied by varying control parameters, e.g., the concentrations of the feed chemicals or the temperature. The observed two-dimensional chemical patterns range from the stationary patterns, similar to those predicted by Turing in 1952 but not observed until 1990, to chemical turbulence, which is characterized by large numbers of defects and a rapid decay of spatial correlations. These provide general insights into the formation of spatiotemporal patterns in nonequilibrium systems