Stopping and initiation of a chemical pulse at the interface of excitable media with different diffusivity.
The dynamics of a chemical pulse at the interface of excitable media having different diffusion properties is presented experimentally using the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction system. When a chemical pulse propagates from a larger diffusion region to a smaller diffusion region, it stops and forms a steady excitation band at the interface. Furthermore, a pulse train stimulated by this band appears subsequently. A simple one-dimensional model with discontinuous diffusion is proposed, and a numerical simulation is performed that shows good agreement with the experiment. Unidirectional pulse propagation across the interface is strongly suggested on the basis of the proposed model.
Miyazaki
Jun
J
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita 565-0871, Osaka, Japan. miyazaki@fbs.osaka-u.ac.jp
Kinoshita
Shuichi
S