We show that external fluctuations induce excitable behavior in a bistable spatially extended system with activator-inhibitor dynamics of the FitzHugh-Nagumo type. This can be understood as a mechanism for sustained signal propagation in bistable media. The phase diagram of the stochastic system is analytically obtained and numerically verified. For small-noise intensities, front propagation be...

Ordinarily, the visual system provides an unambiguous representation of the world. However, at times alternative plausible interpretations of a given stimulus arise, resulting in a dynamic perceptual alternation of the differing interpretations, commonly referred to as bistable or rivalrous perception. Recent research suggests that common neural mechanisms may be involved in the dynamics of ver...

Optical bistable behavior in a unidirectional ring cavity (or a Fabry–Pérot cavity) containing a semiconductor quantum well, described as a three-level ladder-type system with similar transition energies, has been studied. The system interacts with a strong driving field which is in two-photon resonance with the intersubband transition and thus simultaneously drives all three levels into phase-...

[1] Positive feedbacks between vegetation and soil moisture may induce, in arid ecosystems, the emergence of two alternative stable states, corresponding to bare and completely vegetated soil. A new analytical model is developed to investigate this behavior and to study the effects of interannual rainfall variability on the dynamics of bistable ecosystems. When dichotomic Markov noise is used t...

We consider the transport statistics of classical bistable systems driven by noise. The stochastic path integral formalism is used to investigate the dynamics and distribution of transmitted charge. Switching rates between the two stable states are found from an instanton calculation, leading to an effective two-state system on a long time scale. In the bistable current range, the telegraph noi...

We propose a new type of bistable device for silicon photonics, using the self-electro-optic effect within an optical cavity. Since the bistability does not depend on the intrinsic optical nonlinearity of the material, but is instead engineered by means of optoelectronic feedback, it appears at low optical powers. This bistable device satisfies all the basic criteria required in an optical swit...

Several new nematic bistable liquid crystal displays based on a new alignment surface have been demonstrated. Nano-textured alignment surfaces enable the generation of arbitrary pretilt angles and arbitrary anchoring energy. Based on such surfaces, three types of bistable devices have been developed. They are bistable bend-splay, bistable twist-twist and bistable bend-twisted displays.

In isotropic bistable media, a vortex pair typically evolves into rotating spiral waves. In an anisotropic system, instead of spiral waves, the vortices can form wave fragments that propagate with a constant speed in a given direction determined by the system's anisotropy. The fragments may propagate invariably, shrink, or expand. We develop a kinematic approach for the study of vortex-pair dyn...

BACKGROUND Important signaling properties, like adaptation, oscillations, and bistability, can emerge at the level of relatively simple systems of signaling proteins. Here, we have examined the quantitative properties of one well-studied signaling system, the JNK cascade. We experimentally assessed the response of JNK to a physiological stimulus (progesterone) and a pathological stress (hyperos...

The use of bistable laminates is a potential approach to realize broadband piezoelectric based energy harvesting systems. In this paper the dynamic response of a piezoelectric material attached to a bistable laminate plate is examined based on the experimental generated voltage time series. The system was subjected to harmonic excitations and exhibited single-well and snap-through vibrations of...