Synchronization of chemical noise-sustained structures in asymmetrically coupled differential-flow reactors

Abstract

The differential-flow-induced chemical instability is investigated in the context of two coupled reactors with cubic autocatalytic kinetics (the Gray-Scott model). Previous results for master-slave arrangement [Izús, Deza, and Sánchez, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 234112 (2010)] are extended in this study to include bidirectional coupling between reactions. Numerical simulations in the convectively unstable regime show that synchronized noise-sustained structures are developed in both reactors due to the selective amplification of noise. A theoretical analysis shows that the nature of the synchronization and the stability of the synchronized manifold are related with the properties of the critical modes.