Stratified Spatiotemporal Chaos in Anisotropic Reaction-Diffusion Systems

Numerical simulations of two-dimensional pattern formation in an anisotropic bistable reaction-diffusion medium reveal a new dynamical state, stratified spatiotemporal chaos, characterized by strong correlations along one of the principal axes. Equations that describe the dependence of front motion on the angle illustrate the mechanism leading to stratified chaos. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}