Localized pattern formation: semi-strong interaction asymptotic analysis for three components model

Abstract

We investigate a three-component system involving the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction in water-in-oil microemulsions. Our goal is to investigate the connection between homoclinic snaking and semi-strength interaction in a three-variable reaction–diffusion system. A two-parameter bifurcation diagram of homogeneous, periodic and localized patterns is obtained numerically, and a natural asymptotic scaling for semi-strong interaction theory is found where an activator source term a=O(δ1) and b=O(δ1), with δ1≪1 being the diffusion ratio. Under this regime, singular perturbation techniques are used to construct localized steady-state patterns, and new types of non-local eigenvalue problems (NLEP) are derived to determine the stability of these patterns to O(1) time-scale instabilities. We extend the scope of the NLEP by considering a general scenario where both time-scaling parameters are non-zero. All analytical results are found to agree with numerics. Further numerical results are presented on the location of various types of breathing Hopf instability for localized patterns.