Sequential Bifurcations in Sheared Annular Electroconvection
Sequential Bifurcations in Sheared Annular Electroconvection
Physical Review E, 66,
015201 (2002).
Zahir A. Daya
Center for Nonlinear Studies,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545
V. B. Deyirmenjian and
Stephen W. Morris
Department of Physics,
University of Toronto, 60 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A7.
A sequence of bifurcations is studied in a one-dimensional
pattern forming system subject to the variation of two experimental
control parameters: a dimensionless electrical forcing number R and
a shear Reynolds number Re. The pattern is an azimuthally periodic
array of traveling vortices with integer mode number m. Varying R
and Re permits the passage through several codimension-two
points. We find that the coefficients of the nonlinear terms in a
generic Landau equation for the primary bifurcation are discontinuous
at the codimension-two points. Further, we map the stability boundaries in
the space of the two parameters by studying the subcritical
secondary bifurcations in which m --> m+1 when R is
increased at constant Re.
