Self-Replication and Preservation of Reduction Waves in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction

Abstract

Dynamic behaviors of reduction waves are studied in a one-dimensional gel coupled with the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction as a function of temperature and composition of the reaction solution. The most striking behaviors observed are self-replication and preservation of reduction pulse waves. In the former dynamics, after the propagating reduction pulse wave vanishes, it splits into two counterpropagating pulses. In the latter dynamics, counterpropagating reduction pulse waves annihilate each other upon head-on collision and then reappear. Furthermore, annihilation and preservation of reduction waves are observed to occur simultaneously upon head-on collision.