SYNCHRONIZATION DEFECTS AND BROKEN SYMMETRY IN SPIRAL WAVES

Spiral waves are investigated in oscillatory media exhibiting period-d oubling bifurcations. In the period-doubled and chaotic regimes, the r otational symmetry of the spiral wave is broken. The loss of symmetry takes the form of synchronization defect lines where the phase of the local oscillation changes by multiples of 2 pi. The internal structure and geometry of these synchronization defects is studied and a discus sion of the possible types of defect lines is presented.