Stoichiometric network analysis of the photochemical processes in the mesopause region

Abstract

The mechanism of photochemistry in the mesopause region entails a chemical oscillator forced by solar short-wave radiation. A model with periodic forcing between day and night conditions produces nonlinear dynamics including period-doubling bifurcations and chaos. The photochemical mechanism represents a network involving positive and negative feedbacks that can be examined by methods of stoichiometric network analysis. We use these methods to decompose the network into irreducible subnetworks and then apply linear stability analysis to find all possible sources of oscillatory instabilities in the mesopause chemistry. These oscillators are classified according to topological features in their reaction networks and phase shifts of oscillating species. We subsequently compare phase shifts indicated by the network analysis with those from direct simulations to identify a specific subnetwork in the mechanism underlying the complex oscillatory dynamics observed in earlier simulations.