28 research outputs found
On modulational instability and energy localization in anharmonic lattices at finite energy density
The localization of vibrational energy, induced by the modulational
instability of the Brillouin-zone-boundary mode in a chain of classical
anharmonic oscillators with finite initial energy density, is studied within a
continuum theory. We describe the initial localization stage as a gas of
envelope solitons and explain their merging, eventually leading to a single
localized object containing a macroscopic fraction of the total energy of the
lattice. The initial-energy-density dependences of all characteristic time
scales of the soliton formation and merging are described analytically. Spatial
power spectra are computed and used for the quantitative explanation of the
numerical results.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Oscillatory Instabilities of Standing Waves in One-Dimensional Nonlinear Lattices
In one-dimensional anharmonic lattices, we construct nonlinear standing waves
(SWs) reducing to harmonic SWs at small amplitude. For SWs with spatial
periodicity incommensurate with the lattice period, a transition by breaking of
analyticity versus wave amplitude is observed. As a consequence of the
discreteness, oscillatory linear instabilities, persisting for arbitrarily
small amplitude in infinite lattices, appear for all wave numbers Q not equal
to zero or \pi. Incommensurate analytic SWs with |Q|>\pi/2 may however appear
as 'quasi-stable', as their instability growth rate is of higher order.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Discrete breathers in dissipative lattices
We study the properties of discrete breathers, also known as intrinsic
localized modes, in the one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova lattice of
oscillators subject to damping and external force. The system is studied in the
whole range of values of the coupling parameter, from C=0 (uncoupled limit) up
to values close to the continuum limit (forced and damped sine-Gordon model).
As this parameter is varied, the existence of different bifurcations is
investigated numerically. Using Floquet spectral analysis, we give a complete
characterization of the most relevant bifurcations, and we find (spatial)
symmetry-breaking bifurcations which are linked to breather mobility, just as
it was found in Hamiltonian systems by other authors. In this way moving
breathers are shown to exist even at remarkably high levels of discreteness. We
study mobile breathers and characterize them in terms of the phonon radiation
they emit, which explains successfully the way in which they interact. For
instance, it is possible to form ``bound states'' of moving breathers, through
the interaction of their phonon tails. Over all, both stationary and moving
breathers are found to be generic localized states over large values of ,
and they are shown to be robust against low temperature fluctuations.Comment: To be published in Physical Review
Fracture in Mode I using a Conserved Phase-Field Model
We present a continuum phase-field model of crack propagation. It includes a
phase-field that is proportional to the mass density and a displacement field
that is governed by linear elastic theory. Generic macroscopic crack growth
laws emerge naturally from this model. In contrast to classical continuum
fracture mechanics simulations, our model avoids numerical front tracking. The
added phase-field smoothes the sharp interface, enabling us to use equations of
motion for the material (grounded in basic physical principles) rather than for
the interface (which often are deduced from complicated theories or empirical
observations). The interface dynamics thus emerges naturally. In this paper, we
look at stationary solutions of the model, mode I fracture, and also discuss
numerical issues. We find that the Griffith's threshold underestimates the
critical value at which our system fractures due to long wavelength modes
excited by the fracture process.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures (eps). Added 2 figures and some text. Removed one
section (and a figure). To be published in PR
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
Energy Relaxation in Nonlinear One-Dimensional Lattices
We study energy relaxation in thermalized one-dimensional nonlinear arrays of
the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam type. The ends of the thermalized systems are placed in
contact with a zero-temperature reservoir via damping forces. Harmonic arrays
relax by sequential phonon decay into the cold reservoir, the lower frequency
modes relaxing first. The relaxation pathway for purely anharmonic arrays
involves the degradation of higher-energy nonlinear modes into lower energy
ones. The lowest energy modes are absorbed by the cold reservoir, but a small
amount of energy is persistently left behind in the array in the form of almost
stationary low-frequency localized modes. Arrays with interactions that contain
both a harmonic and an anharmonic contribution exhibit behavior that involves
the interplay of phonon modes and breather modes. At long times relaxation is
extremely slow due to the spontaneous appearance and persistence of energetic
high-frequency stationary breathers. Breather behavior is further ascertained
by explicitly injecting a localized excitation into the thermalized array and
observing the relaxation behavior