Stochastic resonance between dissipative structures in a bistable noise-sustained dynamics

We study an extended system that without noise shows a monostable dynamics, but when submitted to an adequate multiplicative noise, an effective bistable dynamics arise. The stochastic resonance between the attractors of the \textit{noise-sustained dynamics} is investigated theoretically in terms of a two-state approximation. The knowledge of the exact nonequilibrium potential allows us to obtain the output signal-to-noise ratio. Its maximum is predicted in the symmetric case for which both attractors have the same nonequilibrium potential value.