We consider surface-tension driven convection in a rotating fluid layer. Fornearly insulating boundary conditions we derive a long-wave equation for theconvection planform. Using a Galerkin method and direct numerical simulationswe study the stability of the steady hexagonal patterns with respect to generalside-band instabilities. In the presence of rotation steady and oscillatoryinstabilities are identified. One of them leads to stable, homogeneouslyoscillating hexagons. For sufficiently large rotation rates the stabilityballoon closes, rendering all steady hexagons unstable and leading tospatio-temporal chaos.
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