Defect-mediated turbulence in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

Abstract

Statistical properties of topological defects in defect-mediated turbulence due to the Doppler instability are examined experimentally in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. By applying the phase space reconstruction approach, processes of defect creation, annihilation, and defect movement are analyzed. The defect dynamics can be well interpreted within the framework of stochastic Markovian process. In contrast to previous studies that made direct measure of the gain and loss rates, which is practically difficult, we demonstrate that the rates can be obtained directly from the analysis of the time series of defects, and the shape of the probability distribution function can be reproduced in a simple way.