Turing Patterns in Forced Open Two‐Side‐Fed‐Reactor

Abstract

AbstractThe mechanism suggested by Turing for reaction‐diffusion systems is widely used to explain pattern formation in biology and in many other areas. The persistence of patterns in altering environments is an important property in many natural cases. The experimental study of these phenomena can be done in chemical systems using appropriately designed reactors, e.g., in two‐side‐fed open gel reactors. This configuration allows for testing the effect of time‐periodic boundary conditions that generate periodic feeding of chemicals on the dynamics of Turing patterns. The numerical approach is based on a chemically realistic mechanism and a 2D description of the reactor that reproduces the feeding from the boundaries and the corresponding concentration gradients. Depending on the amplitude and the frequency of the forcing, two basic regimes are observed, spatiotemporal oscillations and pulsating spot pattern. In between them, a mixed‐mode pattern can also develop. Spot patterns can survive large amplitude forcing. The dynamics of the spot pulsation are analyzed in detail, considering the effect of the tanks and the chemical gradients that localize the patterns. These findings suggest that periodic feeding effectively controls pattern formation in chemical systems.