Complete synchronization of two spirals by a messenger wave in a reaction diffusion system

Synchronization phenomena are ubiquitous in nature. They can be observed in physical, chemical, and biological systems. In the present study, we examine synchronization phenomena in chemical reaction-diffusion systems in the experimental Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. We study how two counter-rotating spirals pinned to unexcitable heterogeneities separated by a wall interact with a third free spiral of higher frequency. We found that the latter, which we call the messenger wave, synchronizes the two non-interacting pinned spirals. We also carried out numerical simulations of a model system with Barkley's reaction-diffusion equations and found corroborating results.