Orbital stability in the cubic defocusing NLS equation: I. Cnoidal periodic waves

Periodic waves of the one-dimensional cubic defocusing NLS equation are considered. Using tools from integrability theory, these waves have been shown in [Bottman, Deconinck, and Nivala, 2011] to be linearly stable and the Floquet-Bloch spectrum of the linearized operator has been explicitly computed. We combine here the first four conserved quantities of the NLS equation to give a direct proof that cnoidal periodic waves are orbitally stable with respect to subharmonic perturbations, with period equal to an integer multiple of the period of the wave. Our result is not restricted to the periodic waves of small amplitudes.Comment: 28 pages, 3 figures. Main result strengthened by removing a smallness condition. Limiting case of the black soliton now postponed to a companion pape

A delay differential model of ENSO variability: Parametric instability and the distribution of extremes

We consider a delay differential equation (DDE) model for El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. The model combines two key mechanisms that participate in ENSO dynamics: delayed negative feedback and seasonal forcing. We perform stability analyses of the model in the three-dimensional space of its physically relevant parameters. Our results illustrate the role of these three parameters: strength of seasonal forcing $b$, atmosphere-ocean coupling $\kappa$, and propagation period $\tau$ of oceanic waves across the Tropical Pacific. Two regimes of variability, stable and unstable, are separated by a sharp neutral curve in the $(b,\tau)$ plane at constant $\kappa$. The detailed structure of the neutral curve becomes very irregular and possibly fractal, while individual trajectories within the unstable region become highly complex and possibly chaotic, as the atmosphere-ocean coupling $\kappa$ increases. In the unstable regime, spontaneous transitions occur in the mean ``temperature'' ({\it i.e.}, thermocline depth), period, and extreme annual values, for purely periodic, seasonal forcing. The model reproduces the Devil's bleachers characterizing other ENSO models, such as nonlinear, coupled systems of partial differential equations; some of the features of this behavior have been documented in general circulation models, as well as in observations. We expect, therefore, similar behavior in much more detailed and realistic models, where it is harder to describe its causes as completely.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure

Periodic solutions to a mean-field model for electrocortical activity

We consider a continuum model of electrical signals in the human cortex, which takes the form of a system of semilinear, hyperbolic partial differential equations for the inhibitory and excitatory membrane potentials and the synaptic inputs. The coupling of these components is represented by sigmoidal and quadratic nonlinearities. We consider these equations on a square domain with periodic boundary conditions, in the vicinity of the primary transition from a stable equilibrium to time-periodic motion through an equivariant Hopf bifurcation. We compute part of a family of standing wave solutions, emanating from this point.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure