Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcations in the discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger trimer: oscillatory instabilities, quasiperiodic solutions and a 'new' type of self-trapping transition

Oscillatory instabilities in Hamiltonian anharmonic lattices are known to appear through Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcations of certain time-periodic solutions of multibreather type. Here, we analyze the basic mechanisms for this scenario by considering the simplest possible model system of this kind where they appear: the three-site discrete nonlinear Schr\"odinger model with periodic boundary conditions. The stationary solution having equal amplitude and opposite phases on two sites and zero amplitude on the third is known to be unstable for an interval of intermediate amplitudes. We numerically analyze the nature of the two bifurcations leading to this instability and find them to be of two different types. Close to the lower-amplitude threshold stable two-frequency quasiperiodic solutions exist surrounding the unstable stationary solution, and the dynamics remains trapped around the latter so that in particular the amplitude of the originally unexcited site remains small. By contrast, close to the higher-amplitude threshold all two-frequency quasiperiodic solutions are detached from the unstable stationary solution, and the resulting dynamics is of 'population-inversion' type involving also the originally unexcited site.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, to be published in J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. Revised and shortened version with few clarifying remarks adde

Translationally invariant nonlinear Schrodinger lattices

Persistence of stationary and traveling single-humped localized solutions in the spatial discretizations of the nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equation is addressed. The discrete NLS equation with the most general cubic polynomial function is considered. Constraints on the nonlinear function are found from the condition that the second-order difference equation for stationary solutions can be reduced to the first-order difference map. The discrete NLS equation with such an exceptional nonlinear function is shown to have a conserved momentum but admits no standard Hamiltonian structure. It is proved that the reduction to the first-order difference map gives a sufficient condition for existence of translationally invariant single-humped stationary solutions and a necessary condition for existence of single-humped traveling solutions. Other constraints on the nonlinear function are found from the condition that the differential advance-delay equation for traveling solutions admits a reduction to an integrable normal form given by a third-order differential equation. This reduction also gives a necessary condition for existence of single-humped traveling solutions. The nonlinear function which admits both reductions defines a two-parameter family of discrete NLS equations which generalizes the integrable Ablowitz--Ladik lattice.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure