Resonance pacemakers in excitable media

Chemical waves are initiated in an excitable medium by resonance with local periodic forcing of the excitability. Experiments are carried out with a photosensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky medium, in which the excitability is varied according to the intensity of the imposed illumination. Complex resonance patterns are exhibited as a function of the amplitude and frequency of the forcing. Local resonance-induced wave initiation transforms the medium globally from a quiescent excitable steady state to a periodic state of successive traveling waves.