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Free keywords:
nonlinear dynamical systems; solitons; wave propagation; spatiotemporal phenomena; chaos
Abstract:
The onset of the back-firing instability is studied in a one-dimensional spatially extended and dissipative system, where propagating localized solutions become unstable. It corresponds to the emission in the tail of a solitary wave of a new wave propagating in the opposite direction. We describe in geometrical term the transition, using a normal form equation as example. We relate the instability scenario to a mechanism of spatio-temporal chaos.