Conductance heterogeneities induced by multistability in the dynamics of coupled cardiac gap junctions.

In this paper, we study the propagation of the cardiac action potential in a one-dimensional fiber, where cells are electrically coupled through gap junctions (GJs). We consider gap junctional gate dynamics that depend on the intercellular potential. We find that different GJs in the tissue can end up in two different states: a low conducting state and a high conducting state. We first present evidence of the dynamical multistability that occurs by setting specific parameters of the GJ dynamics. Subsequently, we explain how the multistability is a direct consequence of the GJ stability problem by reducing the dynamical system's dimensions. The conductance dispersion usually occurs on a large time scale, i.e., thousands of heartbeats. The full cardiac model simulations are computationally demanding, and we derive a simplified model that allows for a reduction in the computational cost of four orders of magnitude. This simplified model reproduces nearly quantitatively the results provided by the original full model. We explain the discrepancies between the two models due to the simplified model's lack of spatial correlations. This simplified model provides a valuable tool to explore cardiac dynamics over very long time scales. That is highly relevant in studying diseases that develop on a large time scale compared to the basic heartbeat. As in the brain, plasticity and tissue remodeling are crucial parameters in determining the action potential wave propagation's stability.

Periodicity characterization of the nonlinear magnetization dynamics.

In this work, we study numerically the periodicity of regular regions embedded in chaotic states for the case of an anisotropic magnetic particle. The particle is in the monodomain regime and subject to an applied magnetic field that depends on time. The dissipative Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation models the particle. To perform the characterization, we compute several two-dimensional phase diagrams in the parameter space for the Lyapunov exponents and the isospikes. We observe multiple transitions among periodic states, revealing complex topological structures in the parameter space typical of dynamic systems. To show the finer details of the regular structures, iterative zooms are performed. In particular, we find islands of synchronization for the magnetization and the driven field and several shrimp structures with different periods.

Temperature, geometry, and bifurcations in the numerical modeling of the cardiac mechano-electric feedback.

This article characterizes the cardiac autonomous electrical activity induced by the mechanical deformations in the cardiac tissue through the mechano-electric feedback. A simplified and qualitative model is used to describe the system and we also account for temperature effects. The analysis emphasizes a very rich dynamics for the system, with periodic solutions, alternans, chaotic behaviors, etc. The possibility of self-sustained oscillations is analyzed in detail, particularly in terms of the values of important parameters such as the dimension of the system and the importance of the stretch-activated currents. It is also shown that high temperatures notably increase the parameter ranges for which self-sustained oscillations are observed and that several attractors can appear, depending on the location of the initial excitation of the system. Finally, the instability mechanisms by which the periodic solutions are destabilized have been studied by a Floquet analysis, which has revealed period-doubling phenomena and transient intermittencies.

Advantage of four-electrode over two-electrode defibrillators.

Defibrillation is the standard clinical treatment used to stop ventricular fibrillation. An electrical device delivers a controlled amount of electrical energy via a pair of electrodes in order to reestablish a normal heart rate. We propose a technique that is a combination of biphasic shocks applied with a four-electrode system rather than the standard two-electrode system. We use a numerical model of a one-dimensional ring of cardiac tissue in order to test and evaluate the benefit of this technique. We compare three different shock protocols, namely a monophasic and two types of biphasic shocks. The results obtained by using a four-electrode system are compared quantitatively with those obtained with the standard two-electrode system. We find that a huge reduction in defibrillation threshold is achieved with the four-electrode system. For the most efficient protocol (asymmetric biphasic), we obtain a reduction in excess of 80% in the energy required for a defibrillation success rate of 90%. The mechanisms of successful defibrillation are also analyzed. This reveals that the advantage of asymmetric biphasic shocks with four electrodes lies in the duration of the cathodal and anodal phase of the shock.

Chaotic dynamics of a magnetic nanoparticle.

We study the deterministic spin dynamics of an anisotropic magnetic particle in the presence of a magnetic field with a constant longitudinal and a time-dependent transverse component using the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. We characterize the dynamical behavior of the system through calculation of the Lyapunov exponents, Poincaré sections, bifurcation diagrams, and Fourier power spectra. In particular we explore the positivity of the largest Lyapunov exponent as a function of the magnitude and frequency of the applied magnetic field and its direction with respect to the main anisotropy axis of the magnetic particle. We find that the system presents multiple transitions between regular and chaotic behaviors. We show that the dynamical phases display a very complicated structure of intricately intermingled chaotic and regular phases.

Chaos suppression through asymmetric coupling.

We study pairs of identical coupled chaotic oscillators. In particular, we have used Roessler (in the funnel and no funnel regimes), Lorenz, and four-dimensional chaotic Lotka-Volterra models. In all four of these cases, a pair of identical oscillators is asymmetrically coupled. The main result of the numerical simulations is that in all cases, specific values of coupling strength and asymmetry exist that render the two oscillators periodic and synchronized. The values of the coupling strength for which this phenomenon occurs is well below the previously known value for complete synchronization. We have found that this behavior exists for all the chaotic oscillators that we have used in the analysis. We postulate that this behavior is presumably generic to all chaotic oscillators. In order to complete the study, we have tested the robustness of this phenomenon of chaos suppression versus the addition of some Gaussian noise. We found that chaos suppression is robust for the addition of finite noise level. Finally, we propose some extension to this research.

Controlling spatio-temporal chaos in the scenario of the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

We discuss some issues related with the process of controlling space-time chaotic states in the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We address the problem of gathering control over turbulent regimes with the use of only a limited number of controllers, each one of them implementing, in parallel, a local control technique for restoring an unstable plane-wave solution. We show that the system extension does not influence the density of controllers needed in order to achieve control.

Defect-enhanced anomaly in frequency synchronization of asymmetrically coupled spatially extended systems.

We analytically establish and numerically show that anomalous frequency synchronization occurs in a pair of asymmetrically coupled chaotic space extended oscillators. The transition to anomalous behaviors is crucially dependent on asymmetries in the coupling configuration, while the presence of phase defects has the effect of enhancing the anomaly in frequency synchronization with respect to the case of merely time chaotic oscillators.

Synchronization of spatially extended chaotic systems in the presence of asymmetric coupling.

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 064103 (2003)]] we described the effects of asymmetric coupling configurations on the synchronization of spatially extended systems. In this paper, we report the consequences induced by the presence of asymmetries in the coupling scheme on the synchronization process of a pair of one-dimensional fields obeying complex Ginzburg-Landau equations. While synchronization always occurs for large enough coupling strengths, asymmetries have the effect of enhancing synchronization and play a crucial role in setting the threshold for the appearance of the synchronized dynamics, as well as in selecting the statistical and dynamical properties of the synchronized motion. We analyze the process of synchronization in the presence of asymmetries when the dynamics is affected by the presence of phase singularities, and show that defects tend to anchor one system to the other. In addition, asymmetry controls the number of synchronized defects that are present in the dynamics. Possible consequences of such asymmetry induced effects in biological and natural systems are discussed.

Frequency entrainment of nonautonomous chaotic oscillators.

We give evidence of frequency entrainment of dominant peaks in the chaotic spectra of two coupled chaotic nonautonomous oscillators. At variance with the autonomous case, the phenomenon is here characterized by the vanishing of a previously positive Lyapunov exponent in the spectrum, which takes place for a broad range of the coupling strength parameter. Such a state is studied also for the case of chaotic oscillators with ill-defined phases due to the absence of a unique center of rotation. Different phase synchronization indicators are used to circumvent this difficulty.

Synchronization between two hele-shaw cells.

Complete synchronization between two Hele-Shaw cells is examined. The two dynamical systems are chaotic in time and spatially extended in two dimensions. It is shown that a large number of connectors are needed to achieve synchronization. In particular, we have studied how the number of connectors influences the dynamical regime that is set inside the Hele-Shaw cells.

Asymmetric coupling effects in the synchronization of spatially extended chaotic systems.

We analyze the effects of asymmetric couplings in setting different synchronization states for a pair of unidimensional fields obeying complex Ginzburg-Landau equations. Novel features such as asymmetry enhanced complete synchronization, limits for the appearance of phase synchronized states, and selection of the final synchronized dynamics are reported and characterized.

Amplitude equations for Rayleigh-Bénard convective rolls far from threshold.

An extension of the amplitude method is proposed. An iterative algorithm is developed to build an amplitude equation model that is shown to provide precise quantitative results even far from the linear instability threshold. The method is applied to the study of stationary Rayleigh-Bénard thermoconvective rolls in the nonlinear regime. In particular, the generation of second and third spatial harmonics is analyzed. Comparison with experimental results and direct numerical calculations is also made and a very good agreement is found.

Integral behavior for localized synchronization in nonidentical extended systems

We report the synchronization of two nonidentical spatially extended fields, ruled by one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equations. The two fields are prepared in different dynamical regimes, and interact via an imperfect coupling consisting of a given number of local controllers N(c). The strength of the coupling is ruled by the parameter varepsilon. We show that, in the limit of three controllers per correlation length, the synchronization behavior is not affected if the product varepsilonN(c)/N is kept constant, providing a sort of integral behavior for localized synchronization.

Domain segregation in a two-dimensional system in the presence of drift

Motivated by experiments on optical patterns we analyze two-dimensional extended bistable systems with drift after a quench above threshold. The evolution can be separated into successive stages: linear growth and diffusion, coarsening, and transport, leading finally to a quasi-one-dimensional kink-antikink state. The phenomenon is general and occurs when the bistability relates to uniform phases or two different patterns.

Controlling and synchronizing space time chaos.

Control and synchronization of continuous space-extended systems is realized by means of a finite number of local tiny perturbations. The perturbations are selected by an adaptive technique, and they are able to restore each of the independent unstable patterns present within a space time chaotic regime, as well as to synchronize two space time chaotic states. The effectiveness of the method and the robustness against external noise is demonstrated for the amplitude and phase turbulent regimes of the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. The problem of the minimum number of local perturbations necessary to achieve control is discussed as compared with the number of independent spatial correlation lengths.