596 research outputs found
Current-voltage characteristic of narrow superconducting wires: bifurcation phenomena
The current-voltage characteristics of long and narrow superconducting
channels are investigated using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations
for complex order parameter. We found out that the steps in the current voltage
characteristic can be associated with bifurcations of either steady or
oscillatory solution. We revealed typical instabilities which induced the
singularities in current-voltage characteristics, and analytically estimated
period of oscillations and average voltage in the vicinity of the critical
currents. Our results show that these bifurcations can substantially complicate
dynamics of the order parameter and eventually lead to appearance of such
phenomena as multistability and chaos. The discussed bifurcation phenomena
sheds a light on some recent experimental findings
Wave scattering by discrete breathers
We present a theoretical study of linear wave scattering in one-dimensional
nonlinear lattices by intrinsic spatially localized dynamic excitations or
discrete breathers. These states appear in various nonlinear systems and
present a time-periodic localized scattering potential for plane waves. We
consider the case of elastic one-channel scattering, when the frequencies of
incoming and transmitted waves coincide, but the breather provides with
additional spatially localized ac channels whose presence may lead to various
interference patterns. The dependence of the transmission coefficient on the
wave number q and the breather frequency Omega_b is studied for different types
of breathers: acoustic and optical breathers, and rotobreathers. We identify
several typical scattering setups where the internal time dependence of the
breather is of crucial importance for the observed transmission properties.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, submitted to CHAOS (Focus Issue
Direct observation of mode-coupling instability in two-dimensional plasma crystals
Dedicated experiments on melting of 2D plasma crystals were carried out. The
melting was always accompanied by spontaneous growth of the particle kinetic
energy, suggesting a universal plasma-driven mechanism underlying the process.
By measuring three principal dust-lattice (DL) wave modes simultaneously, it is
unambiguously demonstrated that the melting occurs due to the resonance
coupling between two of the DL modes. The variation of the wave modes with the
experimental conditions, including the emergence of the resonant (hybrid)
branch, reveals exceptionally good agreement with the theory of mode-coupling
instability.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Wave mode coupling due to plasma wakes in two-dimensional plasma crystals: In-depth view
Experiments with two-dimensional (2D) plasma crystals are usually carried out
in rf plasma sheaths, where the interparticle interactions are modified due to
the presence of plasma wakes. The wake-mediated interactions result in the
coupling between wave modes in 2D crystals, which can trigger the mode-coupling
instability and cause melting. The theory predicts a number of distinct
fingerprints to be observed upon the instability onset, such as the emergence
of a new hybrid mode, a critical angular dependence, a mixed polarization, and
distinct thresholds. In this paper we summarize these key features and provide
their detailed discussion, analyze the critical dependence on experimental
parameters, and highlight the outstanding issues
First direct measurement of optical phonons in 2D plasma crystals
Spectra of phonons with out-of-plane polarization were studied experimentally
in a 2D plasma crystal. The dispersion relation was directly measured for the
first time using a novel method of particle imaging. The out-of-plane mode was
proven to have negative optical dispersion, comparison with theory showed good
agreement. The effect of the plasma wakes on the dispersion relation is briefly
discussed.Comment: submitted to Physical Review Letter
Gamma-Ray Emission from Molecular Clouds Generated by Penetrating Cosmic Rays
We analyze the processes governing cosmic-ray (CR) penetration into molecular
clouds and the resulting generation of gamma-ray emission. The density of CRs
inside a cloud is depleted at lower energies due to the self-excited MHD
turbulence. The depletion depends on the effective gas column density ("size")
of the cloud. We consider two different environments where the depletion effect
is expected to be observed. For the Central Molecular Zone, the expected range
of CR energy depletion is GeV, leading to the depletion of
gamma-ray flux below GeV. This effect can be important for
the interpretation of the GeV gamma-ray excess in the Galactic Center, which
has been revealed from the standard model of CR propagation (assuming the CR
spectrum inside a cloud to be equal to the interstellar spectrum). Furthermore,
recent observations of some local molecular clouds suggest the depletion of the
gamma-ray emission, indicating possible self-modulation of the penetrating
low-energy CRs.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Nonlinear regime of the mode-coupling instability in 2D plasma crystals
The transition between linear and nonlinear regimes of the mode-coupling
instability (MCI) operating in a monolayer plasma crystal is studied. The mode
coupling is triggered at the centre of the crystal and a melting front is
formed, which travels through the crystal. At the nonlinear stage, the mode
coupling results in synchronisation of the particle motion and the kinetic
temperature of the particles grows exponentially. After melting of the
crystalline structure, the mean kinetic energy of the particles continued to
grow further, preventing recrystallisation of the melted phase. The effect
could not be reproduced in simulations employing a simple point-like wake
model. This shows that at the nonlinear stage of the MCI a heating mechanism is
working which was not considered so far.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
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