Effects of fluctuations on propagating fronts

Propagating fronts are seen in varieties of nonequilibrium pattern forming systems in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. In the last two decades, many researchers have contributed to the understanding of the underlying dynamics of the propagating fronts. Of these, the deterministic and mean-field dynamics of the fronts were mostly understood in late 1980s and 1990s. On the other hand, although the earliest work on the effect of fluctuations on propagating fronts dates back to early 1980s, the subject of fluctuating fronts did not reach its adolescence until the mid 1990s. From there onwards the last few years witnessed a surge in activities in the effect of fluctuations on propagating fronts. Scores of papers have been written on this subject since then, contributing to a significant maturity of our understanding, And only recently a full picture of fluctuating fronts has started to emerge. This review is an attempt to collect all the works on fluctuating (propagating) fronts in a coherent and cogent manner in proper perspective. It is based on the idea of making our knowledge in this field available to a broader audience, and it is also expected to help to collect bits and pieces of loose thread-ends together for possible further investigation. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.