title: Algebraic study of drifting spiral waves.
abstract: This two-dimensional study is motivated by cardiac electrophysiology, and focuses on rotating spiral waves in reaction-diffusion (RD) models. Here we deal with a spiral's translational drift under a constant externally imposed gradient G. A long-standing problem may be stated as follows: Given the dimensionless drift velocity V/G, find its nontrivial direction angle Γ relative to G. A deductive algebraic treatment yields a solution, cosΓ=-V/G. Three features are worth noting: the combination of algebraic and RD contexts; a somewhat extensive derivation contrasting with a compact result; and the generality due to the absence of reaction details in the formula. Agreement with a computational database is good to fair, if spirals of very low density are excluded.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wellner