Search

Raw data for the article Emergence of disordered branching patterns in confined chiral nematic liquid crystals, Sources of funding: -ANID by Beca Doctorado Nacional 2020- 21201376. -ANID-Millenium Science Initiative Program–ICN17_012 (MIRO) -FONDECYT project 1210353 -FONDECYT project 11230941 -Universidad de Chile-VID project UI-015/22.

Self-organisation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in ecosystems. These systems can experience transitions from a uniform cover towards the formation of vegetation patterns as a result of symmetry-breaking instability. They can be either periodic or localised in space. Localised vegetation patterns consist of more or less circular spots or patches that can be either isolated or randomly distributed in space. We report on a striking patterning phenomenon consisting of localised vegetation labyrinths. This intriguing pattern is visible in satellite photographs taken in many territories of Africa and Australia. They consist of labyrinths which is spatially irregular pattern surrounded by either a homogeneous cover or a bare soil. The phenomenon is not specific to particular plants or soils. They are observed on strictly homogenous environmental conditions on flat landscapes, but they are also visible on hills. The spatial size of localized labyrinth ranges typically from a few hundred meters to ten kilometres. A simple modelling approach based on the interplay between short-range and long-range interactions governing plant communities or on the water dynamics explains the observations reported here., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Multistable systems are characterized by exhibiting domain coexistence, where each domain accounts for the different equilibrium states. In case these systems are described by vectorial fields, domains can be connected through topological defects. Vortices are one of the most frequent and studied topological defect points. Optical vortices are equally relevant for their fundamental features as beams with topological features and their applications in image processing, telecommunications, optical tweezers, and quantum information. A natural source of optical vortices is the interaction of light beams with matter vortices in liquid crystal cells. The rhythms that govern the emergence of matter vortices due to fluctuations are not established. Here, we investigate the nucleation mechanisms of the matter vortices in liquid crystal cells and establish statistical laws that govern them. Based on a stochastic amplitude equation, the law for the number of nucleated vortices as a function of anisotropy, voltage, and noise level intensity is set. Experimental observations in a nematic liquid crystal cell with homeotropic anchoring and a negative anisotropic dielectric constant under the influence of a transversal electric field show a qualitative agreement with the theoretical findings.

Machine learning algorithms have opened a breach in the fortress of the prediction of high-dimensional chaotic systems. Their ability to find hidden correlations in data can be exploited to perform model-free forecasting of spatiotemporal chaos and extreme events. However, the extensive feature of these evolutions constitutes a critical limitation for full-size forecasting processes. Hence, the main challenge for forecasting relevant events is to establish the set of pertinent information. Here, we identify precursors from the transfer entropy of the system and a deep Long Short-Term Memory network to forecast the complex dynamics of a system evolving in a high-dimensional spatiotemporal chaotic regime. Performances of this triggerable model-free prediction protocol based on the information flowing map are tested from experimental data originating from a passive resonator operating in such a complex nonlinear regime. We have been able to predict the occurrence of extreme events up to 9 round trips after the detection of precursor, i.e., 3 times the horizon provided by Lyapunov exponents, with 92 % of true positive predictions leading to 60 % of accuracy.

A pair of periodically coupled and forced simple oscillators can exhibit aperiodic behaviors. Here we study the effect of periodic spatial modulations in an optical dimer composed of photorefractive saturable waveguides. The propagation of light along these waveguides as a function of the initial condition exhibits chaotic behaviors. The dynamical behaviors are elucidated based on the adequate representation of the variables, frequency spectra, and Poincare sections. Homoclinic and heteroclinic entanglements associated with the hyperbolic points that separate the stable equilibria are the origin of the chaotic behavior. The different dynamical regimes have been characterized as a function of light power and initial conditions. Our results open the possibility of using optical saturable dimers in the secure transmission of information.