Pattern formation in spatially forced thermal convection

In this paper, we present experimental results on the interplay between two different symmetry breaking mechanisms in a pattern forming system, namely inclined layer convection (ILC) with a spatially modulated heated plate. By varying the relative strength and relative orientation, we explored in detail the interplay of these symmetry breaking mechanisms. We found a stabilization of spatio-temporal chaos and resonant interactions that led to superlattice patterns. The fundamental mechanisms observed should be equally applicable to other pattern forming systems. S Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/NJP/14/053010/ mmedia 4 Current address: Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109, USA. 5 Current address: Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. 6 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. New Journal of Physics 14 (2012) 05301