Spontaneous division of dissipative solitons in a planar gas-discharge system with high ohmic electrode

In this Letter we report on the division of electrical current filaments in a planar semiconductor gas-discharge system with high ohmic electrode that we refer to as dissipative solitons. The effect is observed for stationary and propagating, as well as for isolated and for dense arrangements of filaments. For large spatial density of dissipative solitons, processes of their generation and annihilation seem to give rise to a specific kind of spatio-temporal chaotic dynamics.