Multiple Steady States in a Reaction-Diffusion Coupled System

The methods of irreversible thermodynamics have proved very fruitful in describing biological transport processes. We are here concerned with one aspect of this description, namely the treatment of the so-called steady state coupling between chemical reactions and diffusive flows. Almost two decades ago, Hearon (1950) recognized that such a coupling might play a special role in biological systems. More recently, Katchalsky and Oster (1969) used the formalism of linear irreversible thermodynamics in their treatment of facilitated diffusion. It turns out that the flux of a species participating in a chemical reaction may be enhanced and that the enhancement is proportional to the rate of the chemical reaction. Similar in spirit is the treatment of carrier transport by Blumenthal and Katchalsky (1969)