Chaos in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction

Abstract

The dynamics of reacting chemical systems is governed by typically polynomial differential equations that may contain nonlinear terms and/or embedded feedback loops. Thus the dynamics of such systems may exhibit features associated with nonlinear dynamical systems, including (among others): temporal oscillations, excitability, multistability, reaction-diffusion-driven formation of spatial patterns, and deterministic chaos. These behaviors are exhibited in the concentrations of intermediate chemical species. Bifurcations occur between particular dynamic behaviors as system parameters are varied. The governing differential equations of reacting chemical systems have as variables the concentrations of all chemical species involved, as well as controllable parameters, including temperature, the initial concentrations of all chemical species, and fixed reaction-rate constants. A discussion is presented of the kinetics of chemical reactions as well as some thermodynamic considerations important to the appearance of temporal oscillations and other nonlinear dynamic behaviors, e.g., deterministic chaos. The behavior, chemical details, and mechanism of the oscillatory Belousov–Zhabotinsky Reaction (BZR) are described. Furthermore, experimental and mathematical evidence is presented that the BZR does indeed exhibit deterministic chaos when run in a flow reactor. The origin of this chaos seems to be in toroidal dynamics in which flow-driven oscillations in the control species bromomalonic acid couple with the BZR limit cycle.