Transition from local to global feedback control of spiral wave dynamics

Abstract

The dynamics of spiral waves rotating in a thin layer of the light-sensitive Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction are controlled by a time-dependent uniform illumination. The intensity of the illumination is taken to be proportional to the average wave activity observed within a circular domain of the reaction layer. It is shown that an increase of the domain size, corresponding to a transition from local to global feedback control, drastically changes the conditions for stabilization and/or destabilization of the rigidly rotating spiral wave. A theoretical approach is proposed in order to explain the experimentally observed phenomena.