2007/07/27 by Mollie E. Schwartz, M. E. Schwartz, Tom Solomon +3
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computer Graphics and Visualization Techniques #FOS: Physical sciences #Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS) #nlin.PS
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0707.4185
10 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 2007/07/27 · openalex publication_date 2007/07/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present experiments on the behavior of reaction fronts in ordered and disordered cellular flows with imposed winds. Fronts in a chain of alternating vortices are found to freeze (pin to the separatrix) for a wide range of imposed winds that grows nonlinearly with the characteristic strength of the underlying vorticity. Experiments in spatially-disordered flows demonstrate that freezing of fronts is common to cellular flows; furthermore, it is not dependent on boundary conditions. We therefore anticipate similar pinning in a wide range of cellular flows and front-producing systems.