Uncertain dynamics in nonlinear chemical reactions

Abstract

The three-variable autocatalator exhibits chaotic dynamics in an open system configuration. When the model is modified to include a dissociation reaction of the autocatalytic species, B → X + Y, followed by a recombination reaction, X + Y → C, an unusual sensitivity to initial conditions is displayed. The modified system exhibits an effectively infinite number of asymptotic attractors, some chaotic, some periodic, and some stationary, which are accessible by suitable initial conditions or perturbations. We also investigate the modified model in a closed system configuration and find that initial conditions may significantly affect the temporal evolution of the system.