Approximation of small-amplitude weakly coupled oscillators with discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equations

Small-amplitude weakly coupled oscillators of the Klein-Gordon lattices are approximated by equations of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger type. We show how to justify this approximation by two methods, which have been very popular in the recent literature. The first method relies on a priori energy estimates and multi-scale decompositions. The second method is based on a resonant normal form theorem. We show that although the two methods are different in the implementation, they produce equivalent results as the end product. We also discuss applications of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation in the context of existence and stability of breathers of the Klein--Gordon lattice

Existence and continuous approximation of small amplitude breathers in 1D and 2D Klein--Gordon lattices

We construct small amplitude breathers in 1D and 2D Klein--Gordon infinite lattices. We also show that the breathers are well approximated by the ground state of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The result is obtained by exploiting the relation between the Klein Gordon lattice and the discrete Non Linear Schroedinger lattice. The proof is based on a Lyapunov-Schmidt decomposition and continuum approximation techniques introduced in [7], actually using its main result as an important lemma

FPU phenomenon for generic initial data

The well known FPU phenomenon (lack of attainment of equipartition of the mode--energies at low energies, for some exceptional initial data) suggests that the FPU model does not have the mixing property at low energies. We give numerical indications that this is actually the case. This we show by computing orbits for sets of initial data of full measure, sampled out from the microcanonical ensemble by standard Montecarlo techniques. Mixing is tested by looking at the decay of the autocorrelations of the mode--energies, and it is found that the high--frequency modes have autocorrelations that tend instead to positive values. Indications are given that such a nonmixing property survives in the thermodynamic limit. It is left as an open problem whether mixing obtains within time--scales much longer than the presently available ones

Tail resonances of FPU q-breathers and their impact on the pathway to equipartition

Upon initial excitation of a few normal modes the energy distribution among all modes of a nonlinear atomic chain (the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model) exhibits exponential localization on large time scales. At the same time resonant anomalies (peaks) are observed in its weakly excited tail for long times preceding equipartition. We observe a similar resonant tail structure also for exact time-periodic Lyapunov orbits, coined q-breathers due to their exponential localization in modal space. We give a simple explanation for this structure in terms of superharmonic resonances. The resonance analysis agrees very well with numerical results and has predictive power. We extend a previously developed perturbation method, based essentially on a Poincare-Lindstedt scheme, in order to account for these resonances, and in order to treat more general model cases, including truncated Toda potentials. Our results give qualitative and semiquantitative account for the superharmonic resonances of q-breathers and natural packets

The Impacts of Airport Centrality in the EU Network and Inter- Airport Competition on Airport Efficiency

In this paper we study the relationship between airport efficiency and two factors: an airport’s centrality in the EU network, and the intensity of competition from alternative airports in the same catchment area. We apply a two-stage econometric model based on the Simar & Wilson (2007) bootstrap procedure to a balanced sample of 57 European airports. We also design and compute our own measures of airport centrality and competition. The results show that efficiency is positively related to centrality in the European network, as measured by a weighted sum of minimal paths passing through the airport in question. The intensity of competition between airports also has a positive effect on efficiency. Our analysis suggests that air transportation policies should focus on increasing competition within important catchment areas (e.g., by investing in infrastructure facilitating access to alternative airports) and enhancing the connectivity of the EU network (e.g., by subsidizing new point-to-point connections between airports with capacity to spare).air transportation, efficiency, network centrality, inter – airports competition.

Hamiltonian lattice dynamics

Hamiltonian lattice dynamics is a very active and relevant field of research. In this Special Issue, by means of some recent results by leading experts in the field, we tried to illustrate how broad and rich it can be, and how it can be seen as excellent playground for Mathematics in Engineering

Giant g factor tuning of long-lived electron spins in Ge

Control of electron spin coherence via external fields is fundamental in spintronics. Its implementation demands a host material that accommodates the highly desirable but contrasting requirements of spin robustness to relaxation mechanisms and sizeable coupling between spin and orbital motion of charge carriers. Here we focus on Ge, which, by matching those criteria, is rapidly emerging as a prominent candidate for shuttling spin quantum bits in the mature framework of Si electronics. So far, however, the intrinsic spin-dependent phenomena of free electrons in conventional Ge/Si heterojunctions have proved to be elusive because of epitaxy constraints and an unfavourable band alignment. We overcome such fundamental limitations by investigating a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) confined in quantum wells of pure Ge grown on SiGe-buffered Si substrates. These epitaxial systems demonstrate exceptionally long spin relaxation and coherence times, eventually unveiling the potential of Ge in bridging the gap between spintronic concepts and semiconductor device physics. In particular, by tuning spin-orbit interaction via quantum confinement we demonstrate that the electron Land\'e g factor and its anisotropy can be engineered in our scalable and CMOS-compatible architectures over a range previously inaccessible for Si spintronics

On the nonexistence of degenerate phase-shift multibreathers in Klein-Gordon models with interactions beyond nearest neighbors

In this work, we study the existence of, low amplitude, phase-shift multibreathers for small values of the linear coupling in KleinGordon chains with interactions beyond the classical nearest-neighbor (NN) ones. In the proper parameter regimes, the considered lattices bear connections to models beyond one spatial dimension, namely the so-called zigzag lattice, as well as the two-dimensional square lattice or coupled chains. We examine initially the necessary persistence conditions of the system derived by the so-called Effective Hamiltonian Method, in order to seek for unperturbed solutions whose continuation is feasible. Although this approach provides useful insights, in the presence of degeneracy, it does not allow us to determine if they constitute true solutions of our system. In order to overcome this obstacle, we follow a different route. By means of a Lyapunov-Schmidt decomposition, we are able to establish that the bifurcation equation for our models can be considered, in the small energy and small coupling regime, as a perturbation of a corresponding, beyond nearest-neighbor, discrete nonlinear Schr\ua8odinger equation. There, nonexistence results of degenerate phase-shift discrete solitons can be demonstrated by an additional Lyapunov-Schmidt decomposition, and translated to our original problem on the Klein-Gordon system. In this way, among other results, we can prove nonexistence of four-sites vortex-like waveforms in the zigzag Klein-Gordon model. Finally, briefly considering a one-dimensional model bearing similarities to the square lattice, we conclude that the above strategy is not efficient for the proof of the existence or nonexistence of vortices due to the higher degeneracy of this configuration