Nonlinear Dynamics and Bifurcation Behavior in a Saline Oscillator System

The saline oscillator is an oscillatory system consisting of a small tank of salt water placed in the upper corner of a larger tank of freshwater. The tanks are connected via a small orifice set in the bottom of the saline tank causing gravity driven flow, which imitates the function of ion channels. The saline oscillator is a valuable physical model of nonlinear dynamics, utilizing fundamental principles such as excitability, limit cycles, bifurcations, and chaos—typically studied in biological contexts. The oscillator produces self-sustained voltage-like signals similar to action potentials and is responsive to perturbation. With a robust experimental set-up of a saline oscillator including a stimulus delivery system to perturb the system, I extend the bifurcation dynamics in (González, Hortensia et al., 2008) and perturb the saline oscillator into a chaotic regime. I qualify the data by the oscillation ratio and oscillation variation duration.

References:

[1] Gonzàlez, Hortensia; Arce, Humberto; Guevara, Michael R. Phase resetting, phase locking, and biostability in the periodically driven saline oscillator: Experiment and model. Phys. Rev. 2008, E 78, 036217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.036217

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