Self-replication of a pulse in excitable reaction-diffusion systems.
We investigate self-replication of a pulse in Bonhoffer-van der Pol type reaction-diffusion systems in one dimension. The interface dynamics of front and back of a pulse developed for a bistable system is extended to a monostable case, which is useful to clarify the mechanism of the self-replication. We shall show that the threshold parameter for excitability plays the central role for self-replication. The present theory can be applied not only to a symmetric pulse, but also to a propagating asymmetric pulse.