User:Vadim N. Biktashev/Proposed/Autowaves
Autowave is a term proposed by R.V. Khokhlov (..) as a generalization of the concept of auto-oscilations Limit cycle to spatially extended systems. It can be otherwise defined as a dissipative nonlinear wave, in an "active" medium, i.e. a nonlinear medium that that combines dissipation with presence of distributed energy sources.
The term is predominantly used by Soviet/Russian authors and there is no universally agreed definition.
Krinsky and Mikhailov (..) discuss the properties of autowaves as compared to conservative waves (which may include linear or conservative nonlinear waves such as [solitons]). They presented a comparison table for properties of autowaves vs conservative waves:
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Biktashev [1989] has used a formalization of autowave media as a class of [reaction-diffusion systems] which support periodic propagating wave solution. This definition covers [excitable media] and self-oscillatory media, such as [Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction] and other excitable chemical reactions (their models, for mathematical contexts) or the [complex Ginzburg-Landau equation]. It also covers the case of [short-wave instability].
However, some authors (....) include [trigger waves] into the class of autowaves, too.
