Fronts <i>vs</i> . Solitary Waves in Nonequilibrium Systems

Abstract

Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equations are used here as a model for the nonlinear development of flow instabilities. A study of their solutions shows that subcritical instabilities may lead either to a stable localized pattern or expanding "turbulent" domains depending on the relative magnitude of different terms in the equation. We explain then how a continuous transition relates those two phenomena.