Spatiotemporal antiresonance in coupled reaction-diffusion systems

We present a theoretical study of the spatiotemporal antiresonance in a system of two diffusively coupled chemical reactions, one of which is driven by an external periodic forcing. Although antiresonance is well known in various physical systems, the phenomenon in coupled chemical reactions has largely been overlooked. Based on the linearized dynamics around the steady state of the two-component coupled reaction-diffusion systems we have derived the general analytical expressions for the amplitude-frequency response functions of the driven and undriven components of the system. Our theoretical analysis is well corroborated by detailed numerical simulations on coupled Gray-Scott reaction-diffusion systems exhibiting antiresonance dip in the amplitude-frequency response curve as a result of destructive interference between the coupling and the periodic external forcing imparting differential stability of the two subsystems. This leads to the emergence of spatiotemporal patterns in an undriven subsystem, while the driven one settles down to a homogeneously stable steady state.