Wave train selection by invasion fronts in the FitzHugh–Nagumo equation

Abstract

We study invasion fronts in the FitzHugh–Nagumo equation in the oscillatory regime using singular perturbation techniques. Phenomenologically, localized perturbations of the unstable steady-state grow and spread, creating temporal oscillations whose phase is modulated spatially. The phase modulation appears to be selected by an invasion front that describes the behavior in the leading edge of the spreading process. We construct these invasion fronts for large regions of parameter space using singular perturbation techniques. Key ingredients are the construction of periodic orbits, their unstable manifolds, and the analysis of pushed and pulled fronts in the fast system. Our results predict the wavenumbers and frequencies of oscillations in the wake of the front through a phase locking mechanism. We also identify a parameter regime where nonlinear phase locked fronts are inaccessible in the singularly perturbed geometry of the traveling-wave equation. Direct simulations confirm our predictions and point to interesting phase slip dynamics.