Transverse instability of line defects of period-2 spiral waves

The transverse instability of the line defect that is associated with a P-2 spiral wave and the subsequent transition to a spatiotemporal chaotic state was analyzed. The experiments were conducted with a ferroin-catalyzed BZ reaction in a two side fed, composite gel reactor. It was observed that the shape of the defect structure can become sinusoidal with a transverse instability as in bistable fronts. It was shown that this instability eventually leads to a line-defect filled spatiotemporal chaotic state having erratic proliferations, annihilations and regenerations of line defects.