Bifurcation of vortices in the light-sensitive oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium

Experiments were carried out to study the effect of local disturbances on the vortex dynamics in the light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. It was found that irradiation with visible light of the core region of a rotating spiral wave (vortex) in an oscillatory medium results in a bifurcation which dramatically changes the shape of the vortex. The bifurcation is seen as an unfolding increase in the vortex wavelength although only a negligible change in the vortex core size is observed. Similar dynamics is expected to occur in oscillatory media of different nature.