Rotational bifurcation of localized dissipative structures

Abstract

A topic of great interest for pattern-forming systems is the possibility of a spontaneous change in symmetry and dynamics as one slowly varies an external parameter. In this letter, we identify that a stationary localized structure without rotational symmetry, such as a pair of bound dissipative solitons, can spontaneously begin to rotate. The underlying mechanism is similar to the widely studied mechanism of the drift bifurcation in which structures begin to drift at constant velocity. We find a particular example of this new bifurcation for a 3-component reaction-diffusion system in 2 dimensions, and show that it can precede the drift bifurcation.