Nested arithmetic progressions of oscillatory phases in Olsen's enzyme reaction model.

We report some regular organizations of stability phases discovered among self-sustained oscillations of a biochemical oscillator. The signature of such organizations is a nested arithmetic progression in the number of spikes of consecutive windows of periodic oscillations. In one of them, there is a main progression of windows whose consecutive number of spikes differs by one unit. Such windows are separated by a secondary progression of smaller windows whose number of spikes differs by two units. Another more complex progression involves a fan-like nested alternation of stability phases whose number of spikes seems to grow indefinitely and to accumulate methodically in cycles. Arithmetic progressions exist abundantly in several control parameter planes and can be observed by tuning just one among several possible rate constants governing the enzyme reaction.