Bistability onset in fluctuating media

Abstract

We consider a model of an active medium, including the processes of heat conduction, absorption and production. We assume that heat is produced only in bursts induced by the action of random pointlike pulses under the condition that, at the moment of a pulse, the temperature in the corresponding point of the medium exceeds a certain critical value. By analytical investigations and computer simulations we find the threshold frequency of pulses that allows to keep the medium in the self-supported heated regime. The analogies between this problem and the classical problem of percolation are discussed.