Self-Replicating Holes in a Vertically Vibrated Dense Suspension

We find self-replicating holes on the surface of a vertically vibrated potato starch suspension. Above certain acceleration, the finite-amplitude deformation of the surface grows to form a hole that penetrates the fluid layer. The circular shape of the hole is not stable, and the hole begins to replicate just like the self-replicating spots in chemical reaction-diffusion systems. At high acceleration, these holes exhibit spatiotemporal chaos. By assessing the statistical properties in a steady state, we show that fluctuation in the number of holes can be understood by a master equation.