Recognition in Excitable Chemical Reactor Networks. Experiments and Model-Simulations

Abstract

A reactor network consisting of four electrically coupled Belousov−Zhabotinsky (BZ) oscillators is used for the recognition of chemical oscillation patterns. The four reactors show identical period-1 oscillations. The application of a constant electrical current drives the period-1 oscillations into an excitable nodal steady state via a saddle-node infinite period (SNIPER) bifurcation. Global electric coupling is achieved by periodic external pulses applied simultaneously to all four nodal steady states. Thus, any two of eight possible oscillation patterns can be established as initial conditions. Local electrical coupling according to a programming rule enables the network to carry out the actual recognition process of the two encoded patterns. As a result, the two encoded patterns are immediately selected if offered as initial conditions. A pattern with one error is corrected within one or two oscillations; however, patterns with two errors are rejected by this experimental network. Numerical simulation...