2,011 research outputs found
A High-Order Numerical Method for the Nonlinear Helmholtz Equation in Multidimensional Layered Media
We present a novel computational methodology for solving the scalar nonlinear
Helmholtz equation (NLH) that governs the propagation of laser light in Kerr
dielectrics. The methodology addresses two well-known challenges in nonlinear
optics: Singular behavior of solutions when the scattering in the medium is
assumed predominantly forward (paraxial regime), and the presence of
discontinuities in the % linear and nonlinear optical properties of the medium.
Specifically, we consider a slab of nonlinear material which may be grated in
the direction of propagation and which is immersed in a linear medium as a
whole. The key components of the methodology are a semi-compact high-order
finite-difference scheme that maintains accuracy across the discontinuities and
enables sub-wavelength resolution on large domains at a tolerable cost, a
nonlocal two-way artificial boundary condition (ABC) that simultaneously
facilitates the reflectionless propagation of the outgoing waves and forward
propagation of the given incoming waves, and a nonlinear solver based on
Newton's method.
The proposed methodology combines and substantially extends the capabilities
of our previous techniques built for 1Dand for multi-D. It facilitates a direct
numerical study of nonparaxial propagation and goes well beyond the approaches
in the literature based on the "augmented" paraxial models. In particular, it
provides the first ever evidence that the singularity of the solution indeed
disappears in the scalar NLH model that includes the nonparaxial effects. It
also enables simulation of the wavelength-width spatial solitons, as well as of
the counter-propagating solitons.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figure
Singular solutions of the L^2-supercritical biharmonic Nonlinear Schrodinger equation
We use asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations to study peak-type
singular solutions of the supercritical biharmonic NLS. These solutions have a
quartic-root blowup rate, and collapse with a quasi self-similar universal
profile, which is a zero-Hamiltonian solution of a fourth-order nonlinear
eigenvalue problem
Ring-type singular solutions of the biharmonic nonlinear Schrodinger equation
We present new singular solutions of the biharmonic nonlinear Schrodinger
equation in dimension d and nonlinearity exponent 2\sigma+1. These solutions
collapse with the quasi self-similar ring profile, with ring width L(t) that
vanishes at singularity, and radius proportional to L^\alpha, where
\alpha=(4-\sigma)/(\sigma(d-1)). The blowup rate of these solutions is
1/(3+\alpha) for 4/d\le\sigma<4, and slightly faster than 1/4 for \sigma=4.
These solutions are analogous to the ring-type solutions of the nonlinear
Schrodinger equation.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, research articl
Decoupling Transition I. Flux Lattices in Pure Layered Superconductors
We study the decoupling transition of flux lattices in a layered
superconductors at which the Josephson coupling J is renormalized to zero. We
identify the order parameter and related correlations; the latter are shown to
decay as a power law in the decoupled phase. Within 2nd order renormalization
group we find that the transition is always continuous, in contrast with
results of the self consistent harmonic approximation. The critical temperature
for weak J is ~1/B, where B is the magnetic field, while for strong J it
is~1/sqrt{B} and is strongly enhanced. We show that renormaliztion group can be
used to evaluate the Josephson plasma frequency and find that for weak J it
is~1/BT^2 in the decoupled phase.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures. New sections III, V. Companion to following
article on "Decoupling and Depinning II: Flux lattices in disordered layered
superconductors
Simulations of the Nonlinear Helmholtz Equation: Arrest of Beam Collapse, Nonparaxial Solitons, and Counter-Propagating Beams
We solve the (2+1)D nonlinear Helmholtz equation (NLH) for input beams that
collapse in the simpler NLS model. Thereby, we provide the first ever numerical
evidence that nonparaxiality and backscattering can arrest the collapse. We
also solve the (1+1)D NLH and show that solitons with radius of only half the
wavelength can propagate over forty diffraction lengths with no distortions. In
both cases we calculate the backscattered field, which has not been done
previously. Finally, we compute the dynamics of counter-propagating solitons
using the NLH model, which is more comprehensive than the previously used
coupled NLS model.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, Lette
Phase separation of a driven granular gas in annular geometry
This work investigates phase separation of a monodisperse gas of
inelastically colliding hard disks confined in a two-dimensional annulus, the
inner circle of which represents a "thermal wall". When described by granular
hydrodynamic equations, the basic steady state of this system is an azimuthally
symmetric state of increased particle density at the exterior circle of the
annulus. When the inelastic energy loss is sufficiently large, hydrodynamics
predicts spontaneous symmetry breaking of the annular state, analogous to the
van der Waals-like phase separation phenomenon previously found in a driven
granular gas in rectangular geometry. At a fixed aspect ratio of the annulus,
the phase separation involves a "spinodal interval" of particle area fractions,
where the gas has negative compressibility in the azimuthal direction. The heat
conduction in the azimuthal direction tends to suppress the instability, as
corroborated by a marginal stability analysis of the basic steady state with
respect to small perturbations. To test and complement our theoretical
predictions we performed event-driven molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of
this system. We clearly identify the transition to phase separated states in
the MD simulations, despite large fluctuations present, by measuring the
probability distribution of the amplitude of the fundamental Fourier mode of
the azimuthal spectrum of the particle density. We find that the instability
region, predicted from hydrodynamics, is always located within the phase
separation region observed in the MD simulations. This implies the presence of
a binodal (coexistence) region, where the annular state is metastable. The
phase separation persists when the driving and elastic walls are interchanged,
and also when the elastic wall is replaced by weakly inelastic one.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, to be published in PR
High-order numerical method for the nonlinear Helmholtz equation with material discontinuities in one space dimension
The nonlinear Helmholtz equation (NLH) models the propagation of
electromagnetic waves in Kerr media, and describes a range of important
phenomena in nonlinear optics and in other areas. In our previous work, we
developed a fourth order method for its numerical solution that involved an
iterative solver based on freezing the nonlinearity. The method enabled a
direct simulation of nonlinear self-focusing in the nonparaxial regime, and a
quantitative prediction of backscattering. However, our simulations showed that
there is a threshold value for the magnitude of the nonlinearity, above which
the iterations diverge. In this study, we numerically solve the one-dimensional
NLH using a Newton-type nonlinear solver. Because the Kerr nonlinearity
contains absolute values of the field, the NLH has to be recast as a system of
two real equations in order to apply Newton's method. Our numerical simulations
show that Newton's method converges rapidly and, in contradistinction with the
iterations based on freezing the nonlinearity, enables computations for very
high levels of nonlinearity. In addition, we introduce a novel compact
finite-volume fourth order discretization for the NLH with material
discontinuities.The one-dimensional results of the current paper create a
foundation for the analysis of multi-dimensional problems in the future.Comment: 47 pages, 8 figure
Evaluation of the Multiplane Method for Efficient Simulations of Reaction Networks
Reaction networks in the bulk and on surfaces are widespread in physical,
chemical and biological systems. In macroscopic systems, which include large
populations of reactive species, stochastic fluctuations are negligible and the
reaction rates can be evaluated using rate equations. However, many physical
systems are partitioned into microscopic domains, where the number of molecules
in each domain is small and fluctuations are strong. Under these conditions,
the simulation of reaction networks requires stochastic methods such as direct
integration of the master equation. However, direct integration of the master
equation is infeasible for complex networks, because the number of equations
proliferates as the number of reactive species increases. Recently, the
multiplane method, which provides a dramatic reduction in the number of
equations, was introduced [A. Lipshtat and O. Biham, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93,
170601 (2004)]. The reduction is achieved by breaking the network into a set of
maximal fully connected sub-networks (maximal cliques). Lower-dimensional
master equations are constructed for the marginal probability distributions
associated with the cliques, with suitable couplings between them. In this
paper we test the multiplane method and examine its applicability. We show that
the method is accurate in the limit of small domains, where fluctuations are
strong. It thus provides an efficient framework for the stochastic simulation
of complex reaction networks with strong fluctuations, for which rate equations
fail and direct integration of the master equation is infeasible. The method
also applies in the case of large domains, where it converges to the rate
equation results
Emergence of stability in a stochastically driven pendulum: beyond the Kapitsa effect
We consider a prototypical nonlinear system which can be stabilized by
multiplicative noise: an underdamped non-linear pendulum with a stochastically
vibrating pivot. A numerical solution of the pertinent Fokker-Planck equation
shows that the upper equilibrium point of the pendulum can become stable even
when the noise is white, and the "Kapitsa pendulum" effect is not at work. The
stabilization occurs in a strong-noise regime where WKB approximation does not
hold.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
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