Wave propagation in excitable media with fast inhibitor diffusion

Abstract

Wave propagation in excitable media with fast inhibitor diffusion is investigated by analytical and numerical methods. The curvature dependence of the velocity of propagating waves is derived and used to explain the appearance of instabilities with respect to transverse perturbations. Numerical simulations show that this instability may lead to the development of spiral turbulence. On the other hand, the computations also demonstrate that in narrow stripes of such excitable media and/or in media with especially chosen nonhomogeneity the spiral turbulence can be suppressed and steadily propagating wave patterns are found instead.