Spatio-temporal regimes in Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a small rectangular cell

By means of an original optical technique we have studied the spatio-temporal behaviour in a Rayleigh–Bénard convection experiment of small rectangular geometry. The experimental technique allows complete reconstruction of the temperature field integrated along the roll axis. Two main spatiotemporal regimes have been found, corresponding to localized oscillations and travelling waves respectively. Several parameters are proposed for the quantitative characterization of this complex behaviour.