Papers Published

1. C. M. Berger and X. Zhao and D. G. Schaeffer and H. M. Dobrovolny and W. Krassowska and D. J. Gauthier, Period-doubling bifurcation to alternans in paced cardiac tissue: Crossover from smooth to border-collision characteristics, Physical Review Letters, vol. 99 no. 5 (August, 2007) .
   (last updated on 2009/09/02)

   Abstract:
   We investigate, both experimentally and theoretically, the period-doubling bifurcation to alternans in heart tissue. Previously, this phenomenon has been modeled with either smooth or border-collision dynamics. Using a modification of existing experimental techniques, we find a hybrid behavior: Very close to the bifurcation point, the dynamics is smooth, whereas further away it is border-collision-like. The essence of this behavior is captured by a model that exhibits what we call an unfolded border-collision bifurcation. This new model elucidates that, in an experiment, where only a limited number of data points can be measured, the smooth behavior of the bifurcation can easily be missed.