Critical dynamics in oscillatory convection

B. Hof - T. Mullin

Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

Abstract
We present the results of an experimental study of the onset of oscillations in driven convection in gallium in the presence of a magnetic field. The transient growth time for the oscillatory state is found to diverge at the critical point and is modelled using a Ginzburg--Landau amplitude equation. Excellent agreement is found between the predictions of the model and the experimental results. Figs 9, Refs 9.