Light Scattering from Systems with Chemical Oscillations and Dissipative Structures

The spectrum of light scattered from a system of coupled nonlinear chemical reactions is considered for steady states far from equilibrium. Fluctuations from a steady state may exhibit oscillatory decay, marginally stable chemical oscillations, or dissipative structures. Qualitatively new features appear in the spectrum when compared to the light scattering spectrum from reacting systems at equilibrium. The principal new features found are splittings in the chemical lines and dispersive (non-Lorentzian) contributions. Two model reaction mechanisms, the Volterra-Lotka model and the Prigogine-Lefever model, are examined in detail.