The Ratcheting States
Ratcheting states result from secondary bifurcations of ordered states in which symmetry is broken by
small spatial inhomogeneities. In the ratcheting states, one or more rings drift (~1 deg/sec) in a
circular path, speeding up and slowing down in a characteristic manner.
The ratcheting states differ from the uniformly rotating states in at least four significant ways: the
spatiotemporal symmetries are more complicated; the motions are not uniform; the types of motion
are more varied; and the magnitude of the average angular velocity is smaller by a factor of 100.
12/5
Movie (.97M)
Motion: outer ring ratchets around a stationary inner ring.
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12/6/1

Movie (.99M)
Motion: two outer rings ratchet together, speeding up and slowing down in a jerky motion.
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13/6/1
Movie (.97M)
Motion: outer ring moves clockwise with the inner ring locked to it through an angle of approximately sixteen
degrees. The inner ring unlocks and snaps back to its original position.
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13/6
Movie (.97M)
Motion: rings ratchet in an irregular motion.
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