Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0677-2689

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Chemistry

Committee Chair

Kenneth Showalter

Committee Co-Chair

Mark Tinsley

Committee Member

Terry Gullion

Committee Member

Justin Legleiter

Committee Member

Mikel Holcomb

Abstract

We experimentally and computationally investigate dynamical behaviors in excitable and oscillatory media using light sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) systems. These systems are not in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, and have been proven to show various interesting phenomena including spatiotemporal patterns, self-organization, and chaos. We utilize the BZ reaction, a nonlinear chemical reaction, known for its relaxation-type oscillations, to explore the dynamics of these systems.

We examine spiral wave teleportation in an excitable media as an effective alternate defibrillation method. Spiral waves have emerged as a key phenomenon associated with the initiation and persistence of cardiac arrhythmias. Using a light sensitive experimental BZ system and low-energy perturbations, we transport spiral wave tips, as well as annihilate them. By targeting the refractory back of spiral waves, we initiate unidirectional waves in the excitable media. Our results demonstrate that with the appropriate application of the perturbation, we can effectively initiate, annihilate, and teleport spiral waves.

Additionally, we investigate synchronization behaviors in multiplex networks of coupled BZ oscillators. These oscillators are created by loading cation exchange beads with ruthenium catalyst and placing them in a catalyst-free BZ solution, where light is used for coupling. Phase response curves (PRCs) are utilized to quantify an oscillators’ response to light perturbations. In this study, we investigate a two-layer multiplex network of BZ oscillators, where each layer consists of a star network with a hub oscillator and five peripheral oscillators. We demonstrate that synchronization behavior can be observed in these multiplex star networks with varying strengths of inhibitory interlayer coupling.

Figure 2_trim.mp4 (1630 kB)
Initiation of a wave segment

Figure 3_trim.mp4 (4953 kB)
Spiral wave tip teleportation

Figure 4_trim.mp4 (3022 kB)
Boundary termination of a spiral wave

Figure 5_trim.mp4 (3036 kB)
Annihilation of counter-rotating wave tips

Share

COinS