CONTROLLING SPATIOTEMPORAL CHAOS

A method for controlling spatiotemporal chaos in certain classes of sp atially extended systems is proposed. In these systems, unstable defec ts emit convectively unstable waves which subsequently break and may n ucleate new defects. Control is achieved via the stabilization of one such active wave source, which then sweeps all of the chaotic fluctuat ions to the system boundaries. This method is applied to the one- and two-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, and to a recent mode l of spiral breakup in excitable media.