Electric field effects on propagating BZ waves: Predictions of an Oregonator and new pulse supporting models

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Abstract
A theory of electrical effects on BZ wave propagation is presented. An asymptotic reduction of the mechanism of Field, Körös, and Noyes (FKN) results in two models: one which assumes irreversibility of all reactions is the Oregonator of Field and Noyes except that the rate constants are different from theirs; the new model is quite different but consists of the same three chemical species as the Oregonator. Asymptotic (multiple length scale) techniques are used to find approximate solutions to the reaction–transport wave equations which, since two of the species are charged, are parametrized by the applied electrical field. The velocity is found to exhibit multiplicity and possible hysteretic effects in both models although the new reversible model adheres more closely to observations on the zero field waves. The results show that the electric field response of a wave is a rigorous test of the proposed reaction mechanism.