(154d) Collective Dynamic Behavior of Coupled Chemical Oscillators

The collective behavior of populations of rhythmic processes is important in a variety of fields including chemistry (influence on overall rate of reaction, pitting corrosion), biology (circadian rhythms, synchrony associated with epileptic seizures), and engineering (lasers and microwave systems). The focus of the presentation is on experiments with arrays of electrochemical oscillators. The experiments serve as a platform with which the effects of coupling, external forcing, and feedback can be studied since rates of reaction on each electrode can be obtained and elements of the array are individually addressable. We show that mutual entrainment in interacting oscillators can be characterized using phase models developed from direct experiments with a single oscillator or sets of oscillators. The phase models can be used to tune complex dynamic structures to desired states; weak, non-destructive feedback signals are employed to alter interactions among nonlinear rhythmic elements. Application of these methodologies to the behavior of interacting neurons and to the analysis of rhythms in the cardio-respiratory system is briefly described.