Scaling Properties of Weak Chaos in Nonlinear Disordered Lattices

The Discrete Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation with a random potential in one dimension is studied as a dynamical system. It is characterized by the length, the strength of the random potential and by the field density that determines the effect of nonlinearity. The probability of the system to be regular is established numerically and found to be a scaling function. This property is used to calculate the asymptotic properties of the system in regimes beyond our computational power.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

A comparison of polynomial and wavelet expansions for the identification of chaotic coupled map lattices

A comparison between polynomial and wavelet expansions for the identification of coupled map lattice (CML) models for deterministic spatio-temporal dynamical systems is presented in this paper. The pattern dynamics generated by smooth and non-smooth nonlinear maps in a well-known 2-dimensional CML structure are analysed. By using an orthogonal feedforward regression algorithm (OFR), polynomial and wavelet models are identified for the CML’s in chaotic regimes. The quantitative dynamical invariants such as the largest Lyapunov exponents and correlation dimensions are estimated and used to evaluate the performance of the identified models

Linear and nonlinear information flow in spatially extended systems

Infinitesimal and finite amplitude error propagation in spatially extended systems are numerically and theoretically investigated. The information transport in these systems can be characterized in terms of the propagation velocity of perturbations $V_p$. A linear stability analysis is sufficient to capture all the relevant aspects associated to propagation of infinitesimal disturbances. In particular, this analysis gives the propagation velocity $V_L$ of infinitesimal errors. If linear mechanisms prevail on the nonlinear ones $V_p = V_L$. On the contrary, if nonlinear effects are predominant finite amplitude disturbances can eventually propagate faster than infinitesimal ones (i.e. $V_p > V_L$). The finite size Lyapunov exponent can be successfully employed to discriminate the linear or nonlinear origin of information flow. A generalization of finite size Lyapunov exponent to a comoving reference frame allows to state a marginal stability criterion able to provide $V_p$ both in the linear and in the nonlinear case. Strong analogies are found between information spreading and propagation of fronts connecting steady states in reaction-diffusion systems. The analysis of the common characteristics of these two phenomena leads to a better understanding of the role played by linear and nonlinear mechanisms for the flow of information in spatially extended systems.Comment: 14 RevTeX pages with 13 eps figures, title/abstract changed minor changes in the text accepted for publication on PR

Three-dimensional effects on extended states in disordered models of polymers

We study electronic transport properties of disordered polymers in the presence of both uncorrelated and short-range correlated impurities. In our procedure, the actual physical potential acting upon the electrons is replaced by a set of nonlocal separable potentials, leading to a Schr\"odinger equation that is exactly solvable in the momentum representation. We then show that the reflection coefficient of a pair of impurities placed at neighboring sites (dimer defect) vanishes for a particular resonant energy. When there is a finite number of such defects randomly distributed over the whole lattice, we find that the transmission coefficient is almost unity for states close to the resonant energy, and that those states present a very large localization length. Multifractal analysis techniques applied to very long systems demonstrate that these states are truly extended in the thermodynamic limit. These results reinforce the possibility to verify experimentally theoretical predictions about absence of localization in quasi-one-dimensional disordered systems.Comment: 16 pages, REVTeX 3.0, 5 figures on request from FDA ([email protected]). Submitted to Phys. Rev. B. MA/UC3M/09/9

Cultural transmission and optimization dynamics

We study the one-dimensional version of Axelrod's model of cultural transmission from the point of view of optimization dynamics. We show the existence of a Lyapunov potential for the dynamics. The global minimum of the potential, or optimum state, is the monocultural uniform state, which is reached for an initial diversity of the population below a critical value. Above this value, the dynamics settles in a multicultural or polarized state. These multicultural attractors are not local minima of the potential, so that any small perturbation initiates the search for the optimum state. Cultural drift is modelled by such perturbations acting at a finite rate. If the noise rate is small, the system reaches the optimum monocultural state. However, if the noise rate is above a critical value, that depends on the system size, noise sustains a polarized dynamical state.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures include