Collective behavior and memory states in flow networks with tunable bistability.

Abstract

Multistability-induced hysteresis has been widely studied in mechanical systems, but such behavior has proven more difficult to reproduce experimentally in flow networks. Natural flow networks like animal and plant vasculature can exhibit complex nonlinear behavior to facilitate fluid transport, so multistable flows may inform their functionality. To probe such phenomena in an analogous model system, we utilize an electronic network of hysteretic bistable resistors designed to have tunable negative differential resistivity. We demonstrate our system's capability to generate complex global memory states in the form of voltage patterns, which is mediated by the tunable nonlinearity of each element's current-voltage characteristic. We investigate avalanching behavior arising from effective interactions, and demonstrate how to encode explicit interactions of arbitrary form by taking advantage of the tunable circuitry design.