A stability analysis of a real space split operator method for the Klein-Gordon equation

We carry out a stability analysis for the real space split operator method for the propagation of the time-dependent Klein-Gordon equation that has been proposed Ruf et al. [M. Ruf, H. Bauke, C.H. Keitel, A real space split operator method for the Klein-Gordon equation, Journal of Computational Physics 228 (24) (2009) 9092-9106, doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2009.09.012]. The region of algebraic stability is determined analytically by means of a von-Neumann stability analysis for systems with homogeneous scalar and vector potentials. Algebraic stability implies convergence ofthe real space split operator method for smooth absolutely integrable initial conditions. In the limit of small spatial grid spacings $h$ in each of the $d$ spatial dimensions and small temporal steps $\tau$, the stability condition becomes $h/\tau>\sqrt{d}c$ for second order finite differences and $\sqrt{3}h/(2\tau)>\sqrt{d}c$ for fourth order finite differences, respectively, with $c$ denoting the speed of light. Furthermore, we demonstrate numerically that the stability region for systems with inhomogeneous potentials coincides almost with the region of algebraic stability for homogeneous potentials

Multi-site breathers in Klein-Gordon lattices: stability, resonances, and bifurcations

We prove the most general theorem about spectral stability of multi-site breathers in the discrete Klein-Gordon equation with a small coupling constant. In the anti-continuum limit, multi-site breathers represent excited oscillations at different sites of the lattice separated by a number of "holes" (sites at rest). The theorem describes how the stability or instability of a multi-site breather depends on the phase difference and distance between the excited oscillators. Previously, only multi-site breathers with adjacent excited sites were considered within the first-order perturbation theory. We show that the stability of multi-site breathers with one-site holes change for large-amplitude oscillations in soft nonlinear potentials. We also discover and study a symmetry-breaking (pitchfork) bifurcation of one-site and multi-site breathers in soft quartic potentials near the points of 1:3 resonance.Comment: 34 pages, 12 figure

Computational relativistic quantum dynamics and its application to relativistic tunneling and Kapitza-Dirac scattering

Computational methods are indispensable to study the quantum dynamics of relativistic light-matter interactions in parameter regimes where analytical methods become inapplicable. We present numerical methods for solving the time-dependent Dirac equation and the time-dependent Klein-Gordon equation and their implementation on high performance graphics cards. These methods allow us to study tunneling from hydrogen-like highly charged ions in strong laser fields and Kapitza-Dirac scattering in the relativistic regime

On scattering of solitons for the Klein-Gordon equation coupled to a particle

We establish the long time soliton asymptotics for the translation invariant nonlinear system consisting of the Klein-Gordon equation coupled to a charged relativistic particle. The coupled system has a six dimensional invariant manifold of the soliton solutions. We show that in the large time approximation any finite energy solution, with the initial state close to the solitary manifold, is a sum of a soliton and a dispersive wave which is a solution of the free Klein-Gordon equation. It is assumed that the charge density satisfies the Wiener condition which is a version of the ``Fermi Golden Rule''. The proof is based on an extension of the general strategy introduced by Soffer and Weinstein, Buslaev and Perelman, and others: symplectic projection in Hilbert space onto the solitary manifold, modulation equations for the parameters of the projection, and decay of the transversal component.Comment: 47 pages, 2 figure

Stable directions for small nonlinear Dirac standing waves

We prove that for a Dirac operator with no resonance at thresholds nor eigenvalue at thresholds the propagator satisfies propagation and dispersive estimates. When this linear operator has only two simple eigenvalues close enough, we study an associated class of nonlinear Dirac equations which have stationary solutions. As an application of our decay estimates, we show that these solutions have stable directions which are tangent to the subspaces associated with the continuous spectrum of the Dirac operator. This result is the analogue, in the Dirac case, of a theorem by Tsai and Yau about the Schr\"{o}dinger equation. To our knowledge, the present work is the first mathematical study of the stability problem for a nonlinear Dirac equation.Comment: 62 page

PT-symmetric sine-Gordon breathers

In this work, we explore a prototypical example of a genuine continuum breather (i.e., not a standing wave) and the conditions under which it can persist in a $\mathcal{P T}$-symmetric medium. As our model of interest, we will explore the sine-Gordon equation in the presence of a $\mathcal{P T}$- symmetric perturbation. Our main finding is that the breather of the sine-Gordon model will only persist at the interface between gain and loss that $\mathcal{P T}$-symmetry imposes but will not be preserved if centered at the lossy or at the gain side. The latter dynamics is found to be interesting in its own right giving rise to kink-antikink pairs on the gain side and complete decay of the breather on the lossy side. Lastly, the stability of the breathers centered at the interface is studied. As may be anticipated on the basis of their "delicate" existence properties such breathers are found to be destabilized through a Hopf bifurcation in the corresponding Floquet analysis

Orbital stability of periodic waves in the class of reduced Ostrovsky equations

Periodic travelling waves are considered in the class of reduced Ostrovsky equations that describe low-frequency internal waves in the presence of rotation. The reduced Ostrovsky equations with either quadratic or cubic nonlinearities can be transformed to integrable equations of the Klein--Gordon type by means of a change of coordinates. By using the conserved momentum and energy as well as an additional conserved quantity due to integrability, we prove that small-amplitude periodic waves are orbitally stable with respect to subharmonic perturbations, with period equal to an integer multiple of the period of the wave. The proof is based on construction of a Lyapunov functional, which is convex at the periodic wave and is conserved in the time evolution. We also show numerically that convexity of the Lyapunov functional holds for periodic waves of arbitrary amplitudes.Comment: 34 page