Dispersion relation for waves in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction

Abstract

Analysis of a chemical model for the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction leads to an analytic form for the dispersion relation for waves travelling in such a medium. It is found that the velocity varies as the hyperbolic tangent of the normalized period. Data analysis suggests that the normalization time is the selected spiral period for the medium. This result agrees with previously published data, one-dimensional as well as two-dimensional, all of which can be rescaled onto a single dimensionless curve. It thus provides a unifying approach to all waves in this reaction.