Wave mediated synchronization of nonuniform oscillatory media

Abstract

We characterize the spatiotemporal evolution of a photosensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium that is made up of coupled oscillatory cells with randomly distributed frequencies. The medium evolves from an initial state of multiple wave sources to a synchronized state governed by a single wave source. The synchronization occurs via a competition between the sources, which arises when the oscillators are not identical but have slightly different natural frequencies. The evolution of each cell is monitored to demonstrate frequency and phase synchronization of the inhomogeneous cellular medium, and a simple kinematic description for the advance of the phase-diffusion wave is presented. © 2007 The American Physical Society.