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 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 hysterons 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. The tunable nonlinearity of each element's current-voltage characteristic allows us to navigate this space of hysteretic behavior, and can be utilized to engineer more complex networks with exotic effects such as avalanches and multiperiodic orbits.