Patterns of traveling intrinsic localized modes in a driven electrical lattice

Experimental study of intrinsic localized mode mobility in a cyclic, balanced, 1D nonlinear transmission line

Mobile intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) in balanced nonlinear capacitive-inductive cyclic transmission lines are studied by experiment, using a spatiotemporal driver under damped steady-state conditions. Without nonlinear balance, the experimentally observed resonance between the traveling ILM and normal modes of the nonlinear transmission line generates lattice drag via the production of a lattice backwave. In our experimental study of a balanced running ILM in a steady state, it is observed that the fundamental resonance can be removed over extended, well-defined driving frequency intervals and strongly suppressed over the complete ILM driving frequency range. Because both of these nonlinear capacitive and inductive elements display hysteresis our observation demonstrates that the experimental system, which is only partially self-dual, is surprisingly tolerant, regarding the precision necessary to eliminate the ILM backwave. It appears that simply balancing the cell dual nonlinearities makes the ILM envelope shape essentially the same at the two locations in the cell, so that the effective lattice discreteness seen by the ILM nearly vanishes.

Linear impurity modes in an electrical lattice: Theory and experiment

We examine theoretically and experimentally the localized electrical modes existing in a bi-inductive electrical lattice containing a bulk or a surface capacitive impurity. By means of the formalism of lattice Green's functions, we are able to obtain closed-form expressions for the frequencies of the impurity (bound-state) eigenmodes and for their associated spatial profiles. This affords us a systematic understanding of how these mode properties change as a function of the system parameters. We test these analytical results against experimental measurements, in both the bulk and surface cases, and find very good agreement. Last, we turn to a series of quench experiments, where either a parameter of the lattice or the lattice geometry itself is rapidly switched between two values or configurations. In all cases, we are able to naturally explain the results of such quench experiments from the larger analytical picture that emerges as a result of the detailed characterization of the impurity-mode solution branches.

Taming intrinsic localized modes in a DNA lattice with damping, external force, and inhomogeneity

The dynamics of DNA in the presence of uniform damping and periodic force is studied. The damped and driven Joyeux-Buyukdagli model is used to investigate the formation of intrinsic localized modes (ILMs). Branches of ILMs are identified as well as their orbital stabilities. A study of the effect of inhomogeneity introduced into the DNA lattice and its ability to control chaotic behavior is conducted. It is seen that a single defect in the chain can induce synchronized spatiotemporal patterns, despite the fact that the entire set of oscillators and the impurity are chaotic when uncoupled. It is also shown that the periodic excitation applied on a specific site can drive the whole lattice into chaotic or regular spatial and temporal patterns.

Experimental and numerical observation of dark and bright breathers in the band gap of a diatomic electrical lattice

We observe dark and bright intrinsic localized modes (ILMs), also known as discrete breathers, experimentally and numerically in a diatomic-like electrical lattice. The experimental generation of dark ILMs by driving a dissipative lattice with spatially homogenous amplitude is, to our knowledge, unprecedented. In addition, the experimental manifestation of bright breathers within the band gap is also novel in this system. In experimental measurements the dark modes appear just below the bottom of the top branch in frequency. As the frequency is then lowered further into the band gap, the dark ILMs persist, until the nonlinear localization pattern reverses and bright ILMs appear on top of the finite background. Deep into the band gap, only a single bright structure survives in a lattice of 32 nodes. The vicinity of the bottom band also features bright and dark self-localized excitations. These results pave the way for a more systematic study of dark breathers and their bifurcations in diatomic-like chains.

Energy thresholds of discrete breathers in thermal equilibrium and relaxation processes

So far, only the energy thresholds of single discrete breathers in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems have been analytically obtained. In this work, the energy thresholds of discrete breathers in thermal equilibrium and the energy thresholds of long-lived discrete breathers which can remain after a long time relaxation are analytically estimated for nonlinear chains. These energy thresholds are size dependent. The energy thresholds of discrete breathers in thermal equilibrium are the same as the previous analytical results for single discrete breathers. The energy thresholds of long-lived discrete breathers in relaxation processes are different from the previous results for single discrete breathers but agree well with the published numerical results known to us. Because real systems are either in thermal equilibrium or in relaxation processes, the obtained results could be important for experimental detection of discrete breathers.

Inductive intrinsic localized modes in a one-dimensional nonlinear electric transmission line

The experimental properties of intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) have long been compared with theoretical dynamical lattice models that make use of nonlinear onsite and/or nearest-neighbor intersite potentials. Here it is shown for a one-dimensional lumped electrical transmission line that a nonlinear inductive component in an otherwise linear parallel capacitor lattice makes possible a new kind of ILM outside the plane wave spectrum. To simplify the analysis, the nonlinear inductive current equations are transformed to flux transmission line equations with analog onsite hard potential nonlinearities. Approximate analytic results compare favorably with those obtained from a driven damped lattice model and with eigenvalue simulations. For this mono-element lattice, ILMs above the top of the plane wave spectrum are the result. We find that the current ILM is spatially compressed relative to the corresponding flux ILM. Finally, this study makes the connection between the dynamics of mass and force constant defects in the harmonic lattice and ILMs in a strongly anharmonic lattice.

Energy Criterion for the Spectral Stability of Discrete Breathers

Discrete breathers are ubiquitous structures in nonlinear anharmonic models ranging from the prototypical example of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model to Klein-Gordon nonlinear lattices, among many others. We propose a general criterion for the emergence of instabilities of discrete breathers analogous to the well-established Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion for solitary waves. The criterion involves the change of monotonicity of the discrete breather's energy as a function of the breather frequency. Our analysis suggests and numerical results corroborate that breathers with increasing (decreasing) energy-frequency dependence are generically unstable in soft (hard) nonlinear potentials.

Supertransmission channel for an intrinsic localized mode in a one-dimensional nonlinear physical lattice

It is well known that a moving intrinsic localized mode (ILM) in a nonlinear physical lattice looses energy because of the resonance between it and the underlying small amplitude plane wave spectrum. By exploring the Fourier transform (FT) properties of the nonlinear force of a running ILM in a driven and damped 1D nonlinear lattice, as described by a 2D wavenumber and frequency map, we quantify the magnitude of the resonance where the small amplitude normal mode dispersion curve and the FT amplitude components of the ILM intersect. We show that for a traveling ILM characterized by a specific frequency and wavenumber, either inside or outside the plane wave spectrum, and for situations where both onsite and intersite nonlinearity occur, either of the hard or soft type, the strength of this resonance depends on the specific mix of the two nonlinearities. Examples are presented demonstrating that by engineering this mix the resonance can be greatly reduced. The end result is a supertransmission channel for either a driven or undriven ILM in a nonintegrable, nonlinear yet physical lattice.

Strongly localized moving discrete dissipative breather-solitons in Kerr nonlinear media supported by intrinsic gain

We investigate the mobility of nonlinear localized modes in a generalized discrete Ginzburg-Landau-type model, describing a one-dimensional waveguide array in an active Kerr medium with intrinsic, saturable gain and damping. It is shown that exponentially localized, traveling discrete dissipative breather-solitons may exist as stable attractors supported only by intrinsic properties of the medium, i.e., in the absence of any external field or symmetry-breaking perturbations. Through an interplay by the gain and damping effects, the moving soliton may overcome the Peierls-Nabarro barrier, present in the corresponding conservative system, by self-induced time-periodic oscillations of its power (norm) and energy (Hamiltonian), yielding exponential decays to zero with different rates in the forward and backward directions. In certain parameter windows, bistability appears between fast modes with small oscillations and slower, large-oscillation modes. The velocities and the oscillation periods are typically related by lattice commensurability and exhibit period-doubling bifurcations to chaotically "walking" modes under parameter variations. If the model is augmented by intersite Kerr nonlinearity, thereby reducing the Peierls-Nabarro barrier of the conservative system, the existence regime for moving solitons increases considerably, and a richer scenario appears including Hopf bifurcations to incommensurately moving solutions and phase-locking intervals. Stable moving breathers also survive in the presence of weak disorder.

Generation of localized modes in an electrical lattice using subharmonic driving

We show experimentally and numerically that an intrinsic localized mode (ILM) can be stably produced (and experimentally observed) via subharmonic, spatially homogeneous driving in the context of a nonlinear electrical lattice. The precise nonlinear spatial response of the system has been seen to depend on the relative location in frequency between the driver frequency, ω(d), and the bottom of the linear dispersion curve, ω(0). If ω(d)/2 lies just below ω(0), then a single ILM can be generated in a 32-node lattice, whereas, when ω(d)/2 lies within the dispersion band, a spatially extended waveform resembling a train of ILMs results. To our knowledge, and despite its apparently broad relevance, such an experimental observation of subharmonically driven ILMs has not been previously reported.

Discrete breathers in a nonlinear electric line: modeling, computation, and experiment

We study experimentally and numerically the existence and stability properties of discrete breathers in a periodic nonlinear electric line. The electric line is composed of single cell nodes, containing a varactor diode and an inductor, coupled together in a periodic ring configuration through inductors and driven uniformly by a harmonic external voltage source. A simple model for each cell is proposed by using a nonlinear form for the varactor characteristics through the current and capacitance dependence on the voltage. For an electrical line composed of 32 elements, we find the regions, in driver voltage and frequency, where n-peaked breather solutions exist and characterize their stability. The results are compared to experimental measurements with good quantitative agreement. We also examine the spontaneous formation of n-peaked breathers through modulational instability of the homogeneous steady state. The competition between different discrete breathers seeded by the modulational instability eventually leads to stationary n-peaked solutions whose precise locations is seen to sensitively depend on the initial conditions.

Traveling and stationary intrinsic localized modes and their spatial control in electrical lattices

This work focuses on the production of both stationary and traveling intrinsic localized modes (ILMs), also known as discrete breathers, in two closely related electrical lattices; we demonstrate experimentally that the interplay between these two ILM types can be utilized for the purpose of spatial control. We describe a novel mechanism that is responsible for the motion of driven ILMs in this system, and quantify this effect by modeling in some detail the electrical components comprising the lattice.

Localized breathing modes in granular crystals with defects

We study localized modes in uniform one-dimensional chains of tightly packed and uniaxially compressed elastic beads in the presence of one or two light-mass impurities. For chains composed of beads of the same type, the intrinsic nonlinearity, which is caused by the Hertzian interaction of the beads, appears not to support localized, breathing modes. Consequently, the inclusion of light-mass impurities is crucial for their appearance. By analyzing the problem's linear limit, we identify the system's eigenfrequencies and the linear defect modes. Using continuation techniques, we find the solutions that bifurcate from their linear counterparts and study their linear stability in detail. We observe that the nonlinearity leads to a frequency dependence in the amplitude of the oscillations, a static mutual displacement of the parts of the chain separated by a defect, and for chains with two defects that are not in contact, it induces symmetry-breaking bifurcations.