arXiv subjects

A. Vainchtein

Publications and source records attributed to A. Vainchtein.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Discrete breathers in a mechanical metamaterial

We consider a previously experimentally realized discrete model that describes a mechanical metamaterial consisting of a chain of pairs of rigid units connected by flexible hinges. Upon analyzing the linear band structure of the model, we identify parameter regimes in which this system may possess discrete breather solutions with frequencies inside the gap between optical and acoustic dispersion bands. We compute numerically exact solutions of this type for several different parameter regimes and investigate their properties and stability. Our findings demonstrate that upon appropriate parameter tuning within experimentally tractable ranges, the system exhibits a plethora of discrete breathers, with multiple branches of solutions that feature period-doubling and symmetry-breaking bifurcations, in addition to other mechanisms of stability change such as saddle-center and Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcations. The relevant stability analysis is corroborated by direct numerical computations examining the dynamical properties of the system and paving the way for potential further experimental exploration of this rich nonlinear dynamical lattice setting.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2022

Transition fronts and their universality classes

Steadily moving transition (switching) fronts, bringing local transformation, symmetry breaking or collapse, are among the most important dynamic coherent structures. The nonlinear mechanical waves of this type play a major role in many modern applications involving the transmission of mechanical information in systems ranging from crystal lattices and metamaterials to macroscopic civil engineering structures. While many different classes of such dynamic fronts are known, the interrelation between them remains obscure. Here we consider a minimal prototypical mechanical system, the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) chain with piecewise linear nonlinearity, and show that there are exactly three distinct classes of switching fronts, which differ fundamentally in how (and whether) they produce and transport oscillations. The fact that all three types of fronts could be obtained as explicit Wiener-Hopf solutions of the same discrete FPU problem, allows one to identify the exact mathematical origin of the particular features of each class. To make the underlying Hamiltonian dynamics analytically transparent, we construct a minimal quasicontinuum approximation of the FPU model that captures all three classes of the fronts and interrelation between them. This approximation is of higher order than conventional ones (KdV, Boussinesq) and involves mixed space-time derivatives. The proposed framework unifies previous attempts to classify the mechanical transition fronts as radiative, dispersive, topological or compressive and categorizes them instead as different types of dynamic lattice defects.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

Moving discrete breathers in a $β$-FPU lattice revisited

In the present work we revisit the existence, stability and dynamical properties of moving discrete breathers in $β$-FPU lattices. On the existence side, we propose a numerical procedure, based on a continuation along a sequence of velocities, that allows to systematically construct breathers traveling more than one lattice site per period. On the stability side, we explore the stability spectrum of the obtained waveforms via Floquet analysis and connect it to the energy-frequency bifurcation diagrams. We illustrate in this context examples of the energy being a multivalued function of the frequency, showcasing the coexistence of different moving breathers at the same frequency. Finally, we probe the moving breather dynamics and observe how the associated instabilities change their speed, typically slowing them down over longtime simulations.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

Unstable dynamics of solitary traveling waves in a lattice with long-range interactions

In this work we revisit the existence, stability and dynamics of unstable traveling solitary waves in the context of lattice dynamical systems. We consider a nonlinear lattice of an $α$-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam type with the additional feature of all-to-all harmonic long-range interactions whose strength decays exponentially with distance. The competition between the nonlinear nearest-neighbor terms and the longer-range linear ones yields two parameter regimes where the dependence of the energy $H$ of the traveling waves on their velocity $c$ is non-monotonic and multivalued, respectively. We examine both cases, and identify the exact (up to a prescribed numerical tolerance) traveling waves. To investigate the stability of the obtained solutions, we compute their Floquet multipliers, thinking of the traveling wave problem as a periodic one modulo shifts. We show that in the general case when the relationship between $H$ and $c$ is not single-valued, the sufficient but not necessary criterion for stability change is $H'(s)=0$, where $s$ is the parameter along the energy-velocity curve. Perturbing the unstable solutions along the corresponding eigenvectors, we identify two different scenarios of the dynamics of their transition to stable branches. In the first one, the perturbed wave slows down after expelling a dispersive wave. The second scenario involves an increase in the velocity of the perturbed wave accompanied by the formation of a slower small-amplitude traveling solitary wave.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2020

Stability of traveling waves in a driven Frenkel-Kontorova model

In this work we revisit a classical problem of traveling waves in a damped Frenkel-Kontorova lattice driven by a constant external force. We compute these solutions as fixed points of a nonlinear map and obtain the corresponding kinetic relation between the driving force and the velocity of the wave for different values of the damping coefficient. We show that the kinetic curve can become non-monotone at small velocities, due to resonances with linear modes, and also at large velocities where the kinetic relation becomes multivalued. Exploring the spectral stability of the obtained waveforms, we identify, at the level of numerical accuracy of our computations, a precise criterion for instability of the traveling wave solutions: monotonically decreasing portions of the kinetic curve always bear an unstable eigendirection. We discuss why the validity of this criterion in the {\it dissipative} setting is a rather remarkable feature offering connections to the Hamiltonian variant of the model and of lattice traveling waves more generally. Our stability results are corroborated by direct numerical simulations which also reveal the possible outcomes of dynamical instabilities.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Lattices With Internal Resonator Defects

We consider a variety of settings involving chains with one or more defects stemming from the introduction of nodes bearing internal resonators. Motivated by experimental results in woodpile elastic lattices with one or two defects, we consider a variety of different theoretical scenarios. These include multi-defect chains and their ability to transmit, reflect, and especially trap energy; they also include settings with linear vs. nonlinear defects of variable interaction exponent. Moreover, they involve defects which are spatially separated and either statically, or more effectively dynamically, enable the confinement of energy between the separated defects. Wherever possible, comparisons of the experiments with numerical simulations, as well as with theoretical intuition are also offered, to provide a justification for the observed findings.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

A Unifying Perspective: Solitary Traveling Waves As Discrete Breathers And Energy Criteria For Their Stability

In this work, we provide two complementary perspectives for the (spectral) stability of solitary traveling waves in Hamiltonian nonlinear dynamical lattices, of which the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam and the Toda lattice are prototypical examples. One is as an eigenvalue problem for a stationary solution in a co-traveling frame, while the other is as a periodic orbit modulo shifts. We connect the eigenvalues of the former with the Floquet multipliers of the latter and based on this formulation derive an energy-based spectral stability criterion. It states that a sufficient (but not necessary) condition for a change in the wave stability occurs when the functional dependence of the energy (Hamiltonian) $H$ of the model on the wave velocity $c$ changes its monotonicity. Moreover, near the critical velocity where the change of stability occurs, we provide explicit leading-order computation of the unstable eigenvalues, based on the second derivative of the Hamiltonian $H"(c_0)$ evaluated at the critical velocity $c_0$. We corroborate this conclusion with a series of analytically and numerically tractable examples and discuss its parallels with a recent energy-based criterion for the stability of discrete breathers.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2012

Interaction of Traveling Waves with Mass-With-Mass Defects within a Hertzian Chain

We study the dynamic response of a granular chain of particles with a resonant inclusion (i.e., a particle attached to a harmonic oscillator, or a mass-with-mass defect). We focus on the response of granular chains excited by an impulse, with no static precompression. We find that the presence of the harmonic oscillator can be used to tune the transmitted and reflected energy of a mechanical pulse by adjusting the ratio between the harmonic resonator mass and the bead mass. Furthermore, we find that this system has the capability of asymptotically trapping energy, a feature that is not present in granular chains containing other types of defects. Finally, we study the limits of low and high resonator mass, and the structure of the reflected and transmitted pulses.

nlin.PS↗