arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Michael I. Weinstein.
We present an analytical theory of topologically protected photonic states for the two-dimensional Maxwell equations for a class of continuous periodic dielectric structures, modulated by a domain wall. We further numerically confirm the applicability of this theory for three-dimensional structures.
We construct multiple families of solitary standing waves of the discrete cubically nonlinear Schrödinger equation (DNLS) in dimensions $d=1,2$ and $3$. These states are obtained via a bifurcation analysis about the continuum (NLS) limit. One family consists {\it on-site symmetric} (vertex-centered) states; these are spatially localized solitary standing waves which are symmetric about any fixed lattice site. The other spatially localized states are {\it off-site symmetric}. Depending on the spatial dimension, these may be bond-centered, cell-centered, or face-centered. Finally, we show that the energy difference among distinct states of the same frequency is exponentially small with respect to a natural parameter. This provides a rigorous bound for the so-called {\it Peierls-Nabarro} energy barrier.
Let $Q(x)$ denote a periodic function on the real line. The Schrödinger operator, $H_Q=-\partial_x^2+Q(x)$, has $L^2(\mathbb{R})-$ spectrum equal to the union of closed real intervals separated by open spectral gaps. In this article we study the bifurcation of discrete eigenvalues (point spectrum) into the spectral gaps for the operator $H_{Q+q_ε}$, where $q_ε$ is spatially localized and highly oscillatory in the sense that its Fourier transform, $\widehat{q}_ε$ is concentrated at high frequencies. Our assumptions imply that $q_ε$ may be pointwise large but $q_ε$ is small in an average sense. For the special case where $q_ε(x)=q(x,x/ε)$ with $q(x,y)$ smooth, real-valued, localized in $x$, and periodic or almost periodic in $y$, the bifurcating eigenvalues are at a distance of order $ε^4$ from the lower edge of the spectral gap. We obtain the leading order asymptotics of the bifurcating eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Underlying this bifurcation is an effective Hamiltonian associated with the lower edge of the $(b_*)^{\rm th}$ spectral band: $H^ε_{\rm eff}=-\partial_x A_{b_*,\rm eff}\partial_x - ε^2 B_{b_*,\rm eff} \times δ(x)$ where $δ(x)$ is the Dirac distribution, and effective-medium parameters $A_{b_*,\rm eff},B_{b_*,\rm eff}>0$ are explicit and independent of $ε$. The potentials we consider are a natural model for wave propagation in a medium with localized, high-contrast and rapid fluctuations in material parameters about a background periodic medium.
This article is a review of results on the nonlinear Schroedinger / Gross-Pitaevskii equation (NLS / GP). Nonlinear bound states and aspects of their stability theory are discussed from variational and bifurcation perspectives. Nonlinear bound states, in the particular cases where the potential is a single-well, double-well potential and periodic potential, are discussed in detail. We then discuss particle-like dynamics of solitary wave solutions interacting with a potential over a large, but finite, time interval. Finally we turn to the very long time behavior of solutions. We focus on the important resonant radiation damping mechanism that drives the relaxation of the system to a nonlinear ground state and underlies the phenomena of {\it Ground State Selection} and {\it Energy Equipartition}. We also analyze linear and nonlinear "toy minimal models", which illustrate these mechanisms. Regarding the overall style of this article, we seek to emphasize the key ideas and therefore do not present all technical details, leaving that to the references.
We study a class of periodic Schrödinger operators, which in distinguished cases can be proved to have linear band-crossings or "Dirac points". We then show that the introduction of an "edge", via adiabatic modulation of these periodic potentials by a domain wall, results in the bifurcation of spatially localized "edge states". These bound states are associated with the topologically protected zero-energy mode of an asymptotic one-dimensional Dirac operator. Our model captures many aspects of the phenomenon of topologically protected edge states for two-dimensional bulk structures such as the honeycomb structure of graphene. The states we construct can be realized as highly robust TM- electromagnetic modes for a class of photonic waveguides with a phase-defect.
We study the long-time behavior of solutions to the nonlinear Schrödinger / Gross-Pitaevskii equation (NLS/GP) with a symmetric double-well potential, continuing work of the 2nd and 3rd authors. NLS/GP governs nearly-monochromatic guided optical beams in weakly coupled waveguides with both linear and nonlinear (Kerr) refractive indices and zero absorption. The optical power ($L^2$ norm) is conserved with propagation distance. At low optical power, the beam energy executes beating oscillations between the two waveguides. There is an optical power threshold above which the set of guided mode solutions splits into two families of solutions. One type of solution corresponds to an optical beam which is concentrated in either waveguide, but not both. Solutions in the second family undergo tunneling oscillations between the two waveguides. NLS/GP can also model the behavior of Bose-Einstein condensates. A finite dimensional reduction (system of ODEs) well-approximates the PDE dynamics on long time scales. In particular, we derive this reduction, find a class of exact solutions and prove the very long-time shadowing of these solutions by applying the approach of the 2nd and 3rd authors.
A spatially localized initial condition for an energy-conserving wave equation with periodic coefficients disperses (spatially spreads) and decays in amplitude as time advances. This dispersion is associated with the continuous spectrum of the underlying differential operator and the absence of discrete eigenvalues. The introduction of spatially localized perturbations in a periodic medium leads to defect modes, states in which energy remains trapped and spatially localized. In this paper we study weak, localized perturbations of one-dimensional periodic Schrödinger operators. Such perturbations give rise to such defect modes, and are associated with the emergence of discrete eigenvalues from the continuous spectrum. Since these isolated eigenvalues are located near a spectral band edge, there is strong scale-separation between the medium period and the localization length of the defect mode. Bound states therefore have a multi-scale structure: a "carrier Bloch wave" times a "wave envelope", which is governed by a homogenized Schrödinger operator with associated effective mass, depending on the spectral band edge which is the site of the bifurcation. Our analysis is based on a reformulation of the eigenvalue problem in Bloch quasi-momentum space, using the Gelfand-Bloch transform and a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction to a closed equation for the near-band-edge frequency components of the bound state. A rescaling of the latter equation yields the homogenized effective equation for the wave envelope, and approximations to bifurcating eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.
We consider a system governed by the wave equation with index of refraction $n(x)$, taken to be variable within a bounded region $Ω\subset \mathbb R^d$, and constant in $\mathbb R^d \setminus Ω$. The solution of the time-dependent wave equation with initial data, which is localized in $Ω$, spreads and decays with advancing time. This rate of decay can be measured (for $d=1,3$, and more generally, $d$ odd) in terms of the eigenvalues of the scattering resonance problem, a non-selfadjoint eigenvalue problem governing the time-harmonic solutions of the wave (Helmholtz) equation which are outgoing at $\infty$. Specifically, the rate of energy escape from $Ω$ is governed by the complex scattering eigenfrequency, which is closest to the real axis. We study the structural design problem: Find a refractive index profile $n_*(x)$ within an admissible class which has a scattering frequency with minimal imaginary part. The admissible class is defined in terms of the compact support of $n(x)-1$ and pointwise upper and lower (material) bounds on $n(x)$ for $x \in Ω$, i.e., $0 < n_- \leq n(x) \leq n_+ < \infty$. We formulate this problem as a constrained optimization problem and prove that an optimal structure, $n_*(x)$ exists. Furthermore, $n_*(x)$ is piecewise constant and achieves the material bounds, i.e., $n_*(x) \in {n_-, n_+} $. In one dimension, we establish a connection between $n_*(x)$ and the well-known class of Bragg structures, where $n(x)$ is constant on intervals whose length is one-quarter of the effective wavelength.
We review recent work of the authors on the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation with a honeycomb lattice potential, $V$. In particular, we summarize results on (i) the existence of Dirac points, conical singularities in dispersion surfaces of $H_V=-Δ+V$ and (ii) the two-dimensional Dirac equations, as a large, but finite time, effective description of $e^{-iH_Vt}ψ_0$, for data $ψ_0$, which is spectrally localized at a Dirac point. We conclude with a formal derivation and discussion of the effective large time evolution for the nonlinear Schrödinger - Gross Pitaevskii equation for small amplitude initial conditions, $ψ_0$. The effective dynamics are governed by a nonlinear Dirac system.
In a recent article [10], the authors proved that the non-relativistic Schrödinger operator with a generic honeycomb lattice potential has conical (Dirac) points in its dispersion surfaces. These conical points occur for quasi-momenta, which are located at the vertices of the Brillouin zone, a regular hexagon. In this paper, we study the time-evolution of wave-packets, which are spectrally concentrated near such conical points. We prove that the large, but finite, time dynamics is governed by the two-dimensional Dirac equations.
A body of literature has developed concerning "cloaking by anomalous localized resonance". The mathematical heart of the matter involves the behavior of a divergence-form elliptic equation in the plane, $\nabla\cdot (a(x)\nabla u(x)) = f(x)$. The complex-valued coefficient has a matrix-shell-core geometry, with real part equal to 1 in the matrix and the core, and -1 in the shell; one is interested in understanding the resonant behavior of the solution as the imaginary part of $a(x)$ decreases to zero (so that ellipticity is lost). Most analytical work in this area has relied on separation of variables, and has therefore been restricted to radial geometries. We introduce a new approach based on a pair of dual variational principles, and apply it to some non-radial examples. In our examples, as in the radial setting, the spatial location of the source $f$ plays a crucial role in determining whether or not resonance occurs.
General perturbations of a spherical gas bubble in a compressible and inviscid fluid with surface tension were proved in Shapiro and Weinstein (2011), in the linearized approximation, to decay exponentially, $\sim e^{-Γt}, Γ>0$, as time advances. Formal asymptotic and numerical evidence led to the conjecture that $Γ\approx \frac{A}ε \frac{We}{ε^{2}} \exp(-B \frac{We}{ε^2})$, where $0<ε\ll1$ is the Mach number, We is the Weber number, and $A$ and $B$ are positive constants. In this paper, we prove this conjecture and calculate $A$ and $B$ to leading order in $ε$.
We investigate scattering, localization and dispersive time-decay properties for the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation with a rapidly oscillating and spatially localized potential, $q_ε=q(x,x/ε)$, where $q(x,y)$ is periodic and mean zero with respect to $y$. Such potentials model a microstructured medium. Homogenization theory fails to capture the correct low-energy ($k$ small) behavior of scattering quantities, e.g. the transmission coefficient, $t^{q_ε}(k)$, as $ε$ tends to zero. We derive an effective potential well, $σ^ε_{eff}(x)=-ε^2Λ_{eff}(x)$, such that $t^{q_ε}(k)-t^{σ^ε_{eff}}(k)$ is uniformly small on $\mathbb{R}$ and small in any bounded subset of a suitable complex strip. Within such a bounded subset, the scaled transmission coefficient has a universal form, depending on a single parameter, which is computable from the effective potential. A consequence is that if $ε$, the scale of oscillation of the microstructure potential, is sufficiently small, then there is a pole of the transmission coefficient (and hence of the resolvent) in the upper half plane, on the imaginary axis at a distance of order $ε^2$ from zero. It follows that the Schrödinger operator $H_{q_ε}=-\partial_x^2+q_ε(x)$ has an $L^2$ bound state with negative energy situated at a distance $O(ε^4)$ from the edge of the continuous spectrum. Finally, we use this detailed information to prove a local energy time-decay estimate of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation.
We prove that the two-dimensional Schroedinger operator with a potential having the symmetry of a honeycomb structure has dispersion surfaces with conical singularities (Dirac points) at the vertices of its Brillouin zone. No assumptions are made on the size of the potential. We then prove the robustness of such conical singularities to a restrictive class of perturbations, which break the honeycomb lattice symmetry. General small perturbations of potentials with Dirac points do not have Dirac points; their dispersion surfaces are smooth. The presence of Dirac points in honeycomb structures is associated with many novel electronic and optical properties of materials such as graphene.
We consider the one-dimensional Maxwell equations with low contrast periodic linear refractive index and weak Kerr nonlinearity. In this context, wave packet initial conditions with a single carrier frequency excite infinitely many resonances. On large but finite time-scales, the coupled evolution of backward and forward waves is governed by nonlocal equations of resonant nonlinear geometrical optics. For the special class of solutions which are periodic in the fast phase, these equations are equivalent to an infinite system of nonlinear coupled mode equations, the so called it extended nonlinear coupled mode equations, xNLCME. Numerical studies support the existence of long-lived spatially localized coherent structures, featuring a slowly varying envelope and a train of carrier shocks. In this paper we explore, by analytical, asymptotic and numerical methods, the existence and properties of spatially localized structures of the xNLCME system, which arises for a refractive index profile consisting of periodic array of Dirac delta functions. We consider the limit of small amplitude solutions with frequencies near a band-edge. In this case, stationary xNLCME is well-approximated by an infinite system of coupled, stationary, nonlinear Schrödinger equations, the extended nonlinear Schrödinger system, xNLS. We embed xNLS in a one-parameter family of equations, xNLS$^ε$, which interpolates between infinitely many decoupled NLS equations ($ε=0$) and xNLS ($ε=1$). Using bifurcation methods we show existence of solutions for a range of $ε\in(-ε_0,ε_0)$ and, by a numerical continuation method, establish the continuation of certain branches all the way to $ε=1$. Finally, we perform time-dependent simulations of truncated xNLCME and find the small-amplitude solitons to be robust to both numerical errors and the NLS approximation.
We study one-dimensional scattering for a decaying potential with rapid periodic oscillations and strong localized singularities. In particular, we consider the Schrödinger equation \[ H_εψ:= (-\partial_x^2 + V_0(x) + q(x,x/ε)) ψ= k^2 ψ, \] for $k\in\RR$ and $ε<< 1$. Here, $q(.,y+1)=q(.,y)$, has mean zero and $|V_0(x)+q(x,.)|$ goes to zero as $|x|$ goes to infinity. The distorted plane waves of $H_ε$ are solutions of the form: $e^{\pm ikx}+u^s_\pm(x;k)$, $u^s_\pm$ outgoing as $|x|$ goes to infinity. We derive their $ε$ small asymptotic behavior, from which the asymptotic behavior of scattering quantities such as the transmission coefficient, $t^ε(k)$, follow. Let $t_0^{hom}(k)$ denote the homogenized transmission coefficient associated with the average potential $V_0$. If the potential is smooth, then classical homogenization theory gives asymptotic expansions of, for example, distorted plane waves, and transmission and reflection coefficients. Singularities of $V_0$ or discontinuities of $q_ε$, that our theory admits, are "interfaces" across which a solution must satisfy interface conditions (continuity or jump conditions). To satisfy these conditions it is necessary to introduce interface correctors, which are highly oscillatory in $ε$. A consequence of our main results is that $t^ε(k)-t_0^{hom}(k)$, the error in the homogenized transmission coefficient is (i) $O(ε^2)$ if $q_ε$ is continuous and (ii) $O(ε)$ if $q_ε$ has discontinuities. Moreover, in the discontinuous case the correctors are highly oscillatory in $ε$, so that a first order corrector is not well-defined. The analysis is based on a (pre-conditioned) Lippman-Schwinger equation, introduced in [SIAM J. Mult. Mod. Sim. (3), 3 (2005), pp. 477--521].
We consider the one-dimensional propagation of electromagnetic waves in a weakly nonlinear and low-contrast spatially inhomogeneous medium with no energy dissipation. We focus on the case of a periodic medium, in which dispersion enters only through the (Floquet-Bloch) spectral band dispersion associated with the periodic structure; chromatic dispersion (time-nonlocality of the polarization) is neglected. Numerical simulations show that for initial conditions of wave-packet type (a plane wave of fixed carrier frequency multiplied by a slow varying, spatially localized function) very long-lived spatially localized coherent soliton-like structures emerge, whose character is that of a slowly varying envelope of a train of shocks. We call this structure an envelope carrier-shock train. The structure of the solution violates the oft-assumed nearly monochromatic wave packet structure, whose envelope is governed by the nonlinear coupled mode equations (NLCME). The inconsistency and inaccuracy of NLCME lies in the neglect of all (infinitely many) resonances except for the principle resonance induced by the initial carrier frequency. We derive, via a nonlinear geometrical optics expansion, a system of nonlocal integro-differential equations governing the coupled evolution of backward and forward propagating waves. These equations incorporate effects of all resonances. In a periodic medium, these equations may be expressed as a system of infinitely many coupled mode equations, which we call the extended nonlinear coupled mode system (xNLCME). Truncating xNLCME to include only the principle resonances leads to the classical NLCME. Numerical simulations of xNLCME demonstrate that it captures both large scale features, related to third harmonic generation, and fine scale carrier shocks features of the nonlinear periodic Maxwell equations.
We study the infinite time dynamics of a class of nonlinear Schrödinger / Gross-Pitaevskii equations. In our previous paper, we prove the asymptotic stability of the nonlinear ground state in a general situation which admits degenerate neutral modes of arbitrary finite multiplicity, a typical situation in systems with symmetry. Neutral modes correspond to purely imaginary (neutrally stable) point spectrum of the linearization of the Hamiltonian PDE about a critical point. In particular, a small perturbation of the nonlinear ground state, which typically excites such neutral modes and radiation, will evolve toward an asymptotic nonlinear ground state soliton plus decaying neutral modes plus decaying radiation. In the present article, we give a much more detailed, in fact quantitative, picture of the asymptotic evolution. Specificially we prove an equipartition law: The asymptotic soliton which emerges has a mass which is equal to the initial soliton mass plus one half the mass contained in the initially perturbing neutral modes.