title: Noise-induced front motion: signature of a global bifurcation.
abstract: We show that front motion can be induced by noise in a spatially extended excitable system with a global constraint. Our model system is a semiconductor superlattice exhibiting complex dynamics of electron accumulation and depletion fronts. The presence of noise induces a global change in the dynamics of the system forcing stationary fronts to move through the entire device. We demonstrate the effect of coherence resonance in our model; i.e., there is an optimal level of noise at which the regularity of front motion is enhanced. Physical insight is provided by relating the space-time dynamics of the fronts with a phase-space analysis.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstrasse 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hizanidis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balanov
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amann
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schöll