Journal Articles

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    Theory of unpinning of spiral waves using circularly polarized electric fields in mathematical models of excitable media
    (American Physical Society subs@aip.org;revtex@aps.org;prx@aps.org;prxtex@aps.org;help@aps.org;prb@aps.org, 2020) Punacha, S.; Naveena Kumara, A.N.; Shajahan, T.K.
    Spiral waves of excitation are common in many physical, chemical, and biological systems. In physiological systems like the heart, such waves can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and need to be eliminated. Spiral waves anchor to heterogeneities in the excitable medium, and to eliminate them they need to be unpinned first. Several groups focused on developing strategies to unpin such pinned waves using electric shocks, pulsed electric fields, and recently, circularly polarized electric fields (CPEF). It was shown that in many situations, CPEF is more efficient at unpinning the wave compared to other existing methods. Here, we study how the circularly polarized field acts on the pinned spiral waves and unpins it. We show that the termination always happens within the first rotation of the electric field. For a given obstacle size, there exists a threshold time period of the CPEF below which the spiral can always be terminated. Our analytical formulation accurately predicts this threshold and explains the absence of the traditional unpinning window with the CPEF. We hope our theoretical work will stimulate further experimental studies about CPEF and low energy methods to eliminate spiral waves. © 2020 American Physical Society.
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    Effect of electric field chirality on the unpinning of chemical waves in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Sebastian, A.; Sibeesh, P.; Amrutha, S.V.; Punacha, S.; Shajahan, T.K.
    We investigate the unpinning of chemical spiral waves attached to obstacles in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction using a Circularly Polarized Electric Field (CPEF). The unpinning is quantified by measuring the angle at which the spiral leaves the obstacle. Previously, we had found that the wave can unpin when the electric field along the direction of the spiral is above a threshold value. When we apply a DC field, this condition can be satisfied for a range of spiral phases, which we call the unpinning window (UW). With a CPEF, this UW moves either along the direction of the spiral (co-rotating) or against the spiral (counter-rotating). We find that when the field is co-rotating, it can take several rotations of the spiral to get unpinned. With a counter-rotating field, the spiral always unpins during the first rotation. We analyze how unpinning with CPEF depends on the electric field's relative speed, chirality, and strength using experiments and the Oregonator model. Our work helps to understand and control chemical waves. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd