We present a model study of two mass-coupled reactors containing the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction under chaotic conditions. The critical coupling strength is estimated for symmetry breaking when two identical low flow rate chaotic modes are coupled. Our results confirm that the critical coupling strength is directly proportional to the maximum Lyapunov exponent of the uncoupled system. The constant of proportionality is found to be somewhat larger than the theoretical value. Direct integration reveals a rich structure of dynamical behavior when the coupling strength and the flow rate in one cell are varied. Our simulations reveal domains of oscillator death, in which a stable steady state coexists with limit cycle oscillations. We introduce a simple model for predicting the dynamics of the coupled system from the dynamical behavior of the uncoupled subsystems and the dependence on the coupling strength of the Hopf bifurcation of the coupled system. The model gives good estimates of the dynamical behavior of two coupled oscillators with a small difference in one parameter at intermediate and high coupling strengths. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 8 April 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.54.3361