High-Order-Mode Soliton Structures in Two-Dimensional Lattices with Defocusing Nonlinearity

While fundamental-mode discrete solitons have been demonstrated with both self-focusing and defocusing nonlinearity, high-order-mode localized states in waveguide lattices have been studied thus far only for the self-focusing case. In this paper, the existence and stability regimes of dipole, quadrupole and vortex soliton structures in two-dimensional lattices induced with a defocusing nonlinearity are examined by the theoretical and numerical analysis of a generic envelope nonlinear lattice model. In particular, we find that the stability of such high-order-mode solitons is quite different from that with self-focusing nonlinearity. As a simple example, a dipole (``twisted'') mode soliton which may be stable in the focusing case becomes unstable in the defocusing regime. Our results may be relevant to other two-dimensional defocusing periodic nonlinear systems such as Bose-Einstein condensates with a positive scattering length trapped in optical lattices.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

Dynamics of vortex dipoles in anisotropic Bose-Einstein condensates

We study the motion of a vortex dipole in a Bose-Einstein condensate confined to an anisotropic trap. We focus on a system of ordinary differential equations describing the vortices' motion, which is in turn a reduced model of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation describing the condensate's motion. Using a sequence of canonical changes of variables, we reduce the dimension and simplify the equations of motion. We uncover two interesting regimes. Near a family of periodic orbits known as guiding centers, we find that the dynamics is essentially that of a pendulum coupled to a linear oscillator, leading to stochastic reversals in the overall direction of rotation of the dipole. Near the separatrix orbit in the isotropic system, we find other families of periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic trajectories. In a neighborhood of the guiding center orbits, we derive an explicit iterated map that simplifies the problem further. Numerical calculations are used to illustrate the phenomena discovered through the analysis. Using the results from the reduced system we are able to construct complex periodic orbits in the original, partial differential equation, mean-field model for Bose-Einstein condensates, which corroborates the phenomenology observed in the reduced dynamical equations

Geometric stabilization of extended S=2 vortices in two-dimensional photonic lattices: theoretical analysis, numerical computation and experimental results

In this work, we focus our studies on the subject of nonlinear discrete self-trapping of S=2 (doubly-charged) vortices in two-dimensional photonic lattices, including theoretical analysis, numerical computation and experimental demonstration. We revisit earlier findings about S=2 vortices with a discrete model, and find that S=2 vortices extended over eight lattice sites can indeed be stable (or only weakly unstable) under certain conditions, not only for the cubic nonlinearity previously used, but also for a saturable nonlinearity more relevant to our experiment with a biased photorefractive nonlinear crystal. We then use the discrete analysis as a guide towards numerically identifying stable (and unstable) vortex solutions in a more realistic continuum model with a periodic potential. Finally, we present our experimental observation of such geometrically extended S=2 vortex solitons in optically induced lattices under both self-focusing and self-defocusing nonlinearities, and show clearly that the S=2 vortex singularities are preserved during nonlinear propagation

A Unifying Perspective: Solitary Traveling Waves As Discrete Breathers And Energy Criteria For Their Stability

In this work, we provide two complementary perspectives for the (spectral) stability of solitary traveling waves in Hamiltonian nonlinear dynamical lattices, of which the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam and the Toda lattice are prototypical examples. One is as an eigenvalue problem for a stationary solution in a co-traveling frame, while the other is as a periodic orbit modulo shifts. We connect the eigenvalues of the former with the Floquet multipliers of the latter and based on this formulation derive an energy-based spectral stability criterion. It states that a sufficient (but not necessary) condition for a change in the wave stability occurs when the functional dependence of the energy (Hamiltonian) $H$ of the model on the wave velocity $c$ changes its monotonicity. Moreover, near the critical velocity where the change of stability occurs, we provide explicit leading-order computation of the unstable eigenvalues, based on the second derivative of the Hamiltonian $H"(c_0)$ evaluated at the critical velocity $c_0$. We corroborate this conclusion with a series of analytically and numerically tractable examples and discuss its parallels with a recent energy-based criterion for the stability of discrete breathers

Demonstration of dispersive rarefaction shocks in hollow elliptical cylinder chains

We report an experimental and numerical demonstration of dispersive rarefaction shocks (DRS) in a 3D-printed soft chain of hollow elliptical cylinders. We find that, in contrast to conventional nonlinear waves, these DRS have their lower amplitude components travel faster, while the higher amplitude ones propagate slower. This results in the backward-tilted shape of the front of the wave (the rarefaction segment) and the breakage of wave tails into a modulated waveform (the dispersive shock segment). Examining the DRS under various impact conditions, we find the counter-intuitive feature that the higher striker velocity causes the slower propagation of the DRS. These unique features can be useful for mitigating impact controllably and efficiently without relying on material damping or plasticity effects

Symmetry breaking, coupling management, and localized modes in dual-core discrete nonlinear-Schr\"{o}dinger lattices

We introduce a system of two linearly coupled discrete nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equations (DNLSEs), with the coupling constant subject to a rapid temporal modulation. The model can be realized in bimodal Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). Using an averaging procedure based on the multiscale method, we derive a system of averaged (autonomous) equations, which take the form of coupled DNLSEs with additional nonlinear coupling terms of the four-wave-mixing type. We identify stability regions for fundamental onsite discrete symmetric solitons (single-site modes with equal norms in both components), as well as for two-site in-phase and twisted modes, the in-phase ones being completely unstable. The symmetry-breaking bifurcation, which destabilizes the fundamental symmetric solitons and gives rise to their asymmetric counterparts, is investigated too. It is demonstrated that the averaged equations provide a good approximation in all the cases. In particular, the symmetry-breaking bifurcation, which is of the pitchfork type in the framework of the averaged equations, corresponds to a Hopf bifurcation in terms of the original system.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure