Global feedback control for pattern-forming systems

Global feedback control of pattern formation in a wide class of systems described by the Swift-Hohenberg (SH) equation is investigated theoretically, by means of stability analysis and numerical simulations. Two cases are considered: (i) feedback control of the competition between hexagon and roll patterns described by a supercritical SH equation, and (ii) the use of feedback control to suppress the blowup in a system described by a subcritical SH equation. In case (i), it is shown that feedback control can change the hexagon and roll stability regions in the parameter space as well as cause a transition from up to down hexagons and stabilize a skewed (mixed-mode) hexagonal pattern. In case (ii), it is demonstrated that feedback control can suppress blowup and lead to the formation of spatially localized patterns in the weakly nonlinear regime. The effects of a delayed feedback are also investigated for both cases, and it is shown that delay can induce temporal oscillations as well as blowup.