title: Bromide control, bifurcation and activation in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.
abstract: The unstirred, ferroin (Fe(phen)3(2+)) catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is the prototype oscillatory chemical system. Reaction media with added Br(-) appear red (reduced, low [Fe(phen)3(3+)]) during an induction period of several minutes, followed by the "spontaneous" formation of "pacemaker" sites, which oscillate between a blue, oxidized state (high [Fe(phen)3(3+)]) and the red, reduced state and generate target patterns of concentric, outwardly moving waves of oxidation (blue). Auto-oscillatory behavior is also seen in the Oregonator model of Field, Koros and Noyes (FKN), a robust, reduced model that captures qualitative BZ kinetics in the auto-oscillatory regime. However, the Oregonator model predicts a blue (oxidized) induction phase. Here we develop a generalized Oregonator-like model with no explicit bifurcation parameter that yields the observed transition from a red initial state to oscillatory dynamics, and displays a new bifurcation mechanism not seen in the original Oregonator.
authors.forename: Harold M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hastings
authors.forename: Sabrina G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Field
authors.forename: Dominick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bongiovi
authors.forename: Brianna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richford
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Finzel
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garuthara