Spatiotemporal organization of chemical oscillators via phase separation

TL;DR

This paper explores how phase separation influences chemical oscillators, showing that localizing reactants within phases can control oscillation properties and lead to complex wave phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for understanding chemical oscillators with phase separation, highlighting the impact of spatial organization on reaction dynamics.

Findings

Phase separation localizes reactants, affecting reaction kinetics.

Control of oscillator frequency and amplitude through phase organization.

Emergence of mesoscopic waves when timescale separation is relaxed.

Abstract

We study chemical oscillators in the presence of phase separation. By imposing timescale separation between slow reactions and fast diffusion, we define a dynamics at phase equilibrium for the relevant degrees of freedom. We demonstrate that phase separation affects reaction kinetics by localizing reactants within phases, allowing for control of oscillator frequency and amplitude. The analysis is validated with a spatial model. Finally, relaxing the timescale separation between reactions and diffusion leads to waves of phase equilibria at mesoscopic scales.