Open AccessThe evolution of spiral waves in inhomogeneous excitable media
Author(s) -
Dai Yu,
Wei Hai-Ming,
Tang Guo-Ning
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
wuli xuebao
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 47
ISSN - 1000-3290
DOI - 10.7498/aps.59.5979
Subject(s) - spiral (railway) , excitable medium , spiral wave , pattern formation , physics , instability , mechanics , boundary (topology) , grain boundary , classical mechanics , optics , materials science , mathematical analysis , mathematics , genetics , microstructure , metallurgy , biology
The effect of small heterogeneous grains with different features and shapes on the evolution of spiral wave is investigated by using the simple model of discrete excitable medium. When the small grains are uniformly distributed in a medium,the instability of spiral wave relates to the shape,density and nature of the grain. The numerical results show that under suitable conditions,the heterogeneous grains can lead to the transition from stable spiral wave to meandering spiral wave in the medium in which it occurs, the spiral wave even drifts out of the boundary of system. The periodic pattern with irregular shape and the periodic maze-type pattern have been observed for the first time. The physical mechanism underlying these phenomena is discussed.