Chemical Instability Induced by a Shear Flow

We predict a new type of instability induced by shear flow in chemical systems. A homogeneous steady state solution of a reaction-diffusion system loses stability in a Poiseuille flow. The instability appears as the speed of the flow increases beyond a certain threshold. This results in a steady pattern moving with the average fluid velocity. The chemical reaction consists of two species (activator and inhibitor) moving with identical velocities. Contrary to Turing's instability, the pattern arises when the activator has a higher diffusivity than the inhibitor.