arXiv subjects

P. G. Kevrekidis

Publications and source records attributed to P. G. Kevrekidis.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Instabilities via Negative Krein Signature in a Non-Conservative DNLS Model

In the present work we consider a model that has been proposed at the continuum level for self-defocusing nonlinearities in atomic BECs in order to capture phenomenologically the loss of condensate atoms to thermal ones. We explore the model at the discrete level, using this prototypical setting combining dispersion, nonlinearity and gain/loss to illustrate the idea that modes associated with negative "energy" (mathematically: negative Krein signature) can give rise to instability of excited states when gain/loss terms are introduced in a nonlinear dynamical lattice. We showcase this idea by considering one-, two- and three-site discrete modes, exploring their stability semi-analytically, and corroborating their continuation over the gain/loss parameter numerically, as well as manifesting through direct numerical simulations their unstable nonlinear dynamics.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

On the nonexistence of degenerate phase-shift multibreathers in a zigzag Klein-Gordon model

In this work, we study the existence of low amplitude four-site phase-shift multibreathers for small values of the coupling $ε$ in Klein-Gordon (KG) chains with interactions longer than the classical nearest-neighbour 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. We examine initially the persistence conditions of the system, in order to seek for vortex-like waveforms. Although this approach provides useful insights, due to the degeneracy of these solutions, 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. In the case of the zigzag configuration, by means of a Lyapunov-Schmidt decomposition, we are able to establish that the bifurcation equation for our model can be considered, in the small energy and small coupling regime, as a perturbation of a corresponding non-local discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (NL-dNLS) equation. There, nonexistence results of degenerate phase-shift discrete solitons can be demonstrated by exploiting the expansion of a suitable density current of the NL-dNLS, obtained in recent literature. 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.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

On the nonexistence of degenerate phase-shift discrete solitons in a dNLS nonlocal lattice

We consider a one-dimensional discrete nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger (dNLS) model featuring interactions beyond nearest neighbors. We are interested in the existence (or nonexistence) of phase-shift discrete solitons, which correspond to four-sites vortex solutions in the standard two-dimensional dNLS model (square lattice), of which this is a simpler variant. Due to the specific choice of lengths of the inter-site interactions, the vortex configurations considered present a degeneracy which causes the standard continuation techniques to be non-applicable. In the present one-dimensional case, the existence of a conserved quantity for the soliton profile (the so-called density current), together with a perturbative construction, leads to the nonexistence of any phase-shift discrete soliton which is at least $C^2$ with respect to the small coupling $ε$, in the limit of vanishing $ε$. If we assume the solution to be only $C^0$ in the same limit of $ε$, nonexistence is instead proved by studying the bifurcation equation of a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction, expanded to suitably high orders. Specifically, we produce a nonexistence criterion whose efficiency we reveal in the cases of partial and full degeneracy of approximate solutions obtained via a leading order expansion.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Stabilization of the Peregrine soliton and Kuznetsov-Ma breathers by means of nonlinearity and dispersion management

We demonstrate a possibility to make rogue waves (RWs) in the form of the Peregrine soliton (PS) and Kuznetsov-Ma breathers (KMBs) effectively stable objects, with the help of properly defined dispersion or nonlinearity management applied to the continuous-wave (CW) background supporting the RWs. In particular, it is found that either management scheme, if applied along the longitudinal coordinate, making the underlying nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) selfdefocusing in the course of disappearance of the PS, indeed stabilizes the global solution with respect to the modulational instability of the background. In the process, additional excitations are generated, namely, dispersive shock waves and, in some cases, also a pair of slowly separating dark solitons. Further, the nonlinearity-management format, which makes the NLSE defocusing outside of a finite domain in the transverse direction, enables the stabilization of the KMBs, in the form of confined oscillating states. On the other hand, a nonlinearity-management format applied periodically along the propagation direction, creates expanding patterns featuring multiplication of KMBs through their cascading fission.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Enhanced quantum spin fluctuations in a binary Bose-Einstein condensate

For quantum fluids, the role of quantum fluctuations may be significant in several regimes such as when the dimensionality is low, the density is high, the interactions are strong, or for low particle numbers. In this paper we propose a fundamentally different regime for enhanced quantum fluctuations without being restricted by any of the above conditions. Instead, our scheme relies on the engineering of an effective attractive interaction in a dilute, two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) consisting of thousands of atoms. In such a regime, the quantum spin fluctuations are significantly enhanced (atom bunching with respect to the noninteracting limit) since they act to reduce the interaction energy - a remarkable property given that spin fluctuations are normally suppressed (anti-bunching) at zero temperature. In contrast to the case of true attractive interactions, our approach is not vulnerable to BEC collapse. We numerically demonstrate that these quantum fluctuations are experimentally accessible by either spin or single-component Bragg spectroscopy, offering a useful platform on which to test beyond-mean-field theories. We also develop a variational model and use it to analytically predict the shift of the immiscibility critical point, finding good agreement with our numerics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Quasiperiodic granular chains and Hofstadter butterflies

We study quasiperiodicity-induced localization of waves in strongly precompressed granular chains. We propose three different setups, inspired by the Aubry--André (AA) model, of quasiperiodic chains; and we use these models to compare the effects of on-site and off-site quasiperiodicity in nonlinear lattices. When there is purely on-site quasiperiodicity, which we implement in two different ways, we show for a chain of spherical particles that there is a localization transition (as in the original AA model). However, we observe no localization transition in a chain of cylindrical particles in which we incorporate quasiperiodicity in the distribution of contact angles between adjacent cylinders by making the angle periodicity incommensurate with that of the chain. For each of our three models, we compute the Hofstadter spectrum and the associated Minkowski--Bouligand fractal dimension, and we demonstrate that the fractal dimension decreases as one approaches the localization transition (when it exists). Finally, in a suite of numerical computations, we demonstrate both localization and that there exist regimes of ballistic, superdiffusive, diffusive, and subdiffusive transport. Our models provide a flexible set of systems to study quasiperiodicity-induced analogs of Anderson phenomena in granular chains that one can tune controllably from weakly to strongly nonlinear regimes.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear Excitations in Magnetic Lattices with Long-Range Interactions

We study - experimentally, theoretically, and numerically - nonlinear excitations in lattices of magnets with long-range interactions. We examine breather solutions, which are spatially localized and periodic in time, in a chain with algebraically-decaying interactions. It was established two decades ago [S. Flach, Phys. Rev. E 58, R4116 (1998)] that lattices with long-range interactions can have breather solutions in which the spatial decay of the tails has a crossover from exponential to algebraic decay. In this Letter, we revisit this problem in the setting of a chain of repelling magnets with a mass defect and verify, both numerically and experimentally, the existence of breathers with such a crossover.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear Beam Propagation in a Class of Complex Non-PT -Symmetric Potentials

The subject of PT-symmetry and its areas of application have been blossoming over the past decade. Here, we consider a nonlinear Schrödinger model with a complex potential that can be tuned controllably away from being PT-symmetric, as it might be the case in realistic applications. We utilize two parameters: the first one breaks PT-symmetry but retains a proportionality between the imaginary and the derivative of the real part of the potential; the second one, detunes from this latter proportionality. It is shown that the departure of the potential from the PT -symmetric form does not allow for the numerical identification of exact stationary solutions. Nevertheless, it is of crucial importance to consider the dynamical evolution of initial beam profiles. In that light, we define a suitable notion of optimization and find that even for non PT-symmetric cases, the beam dynamics, both in 1D and 2D -although prone to weak growth or decay- suggests that the optimized profiles do not change significantly under propagation for specific parameter regimes.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2018

Phononic Rogue Waves

We present a theoretical study of extreme events occurring in phononic lattices. In particular, we focus on the formation of rogue or freak waves, which are characterized by their localization in both spatial and temporal domains. We consider two examples. The first one is the prototypical nonlinear mass-spring system in the form of a homogeneous Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou (FPUT) lattice with a polynomial potential. By deriving an approximation based on the nonlinear Schroedinger (NLS) equation, we are able to initialize the FPUT model using a suitably transformed Peregrine soliton solution of the NLS, obtaining dynamics that resembles a rogue wave on the FPUT lattice. We also show that Gaussian initial data can lead to dynamics featuring rogue wave for sufficiently wide Gaussians. The second example is a diatomic granular crystal exhibiting rogue wave like dynamics, which we also obtain through an NLS reduction and numerical simulations. The granular crystal (a chain of particles that interact elastically) is a widely studied system that lends itself to experimental studies. This study serves to illustrate the potential of such dynamical lattices towards the experimental observation of acoustic rogue waves.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Kink Dynamics in a Parametric $ϕ^6$ System: A Model With Controllably Many Internal Modes

We explore a variant of the $ϕ^6$ model originally proposed in Phys.\ Rev.\ D {\bf 12}, 1606 (1975) as a prototypical, so-called, "bag" model in which domain walls play the role of quarks within hadrons. We examine the steady state of the model, namely an apparent bound state of two kink structures. We explore its linearization, and we find that, as a function of a parameter controlling the curvature of the potential, an {\it effectively arbitrary} number of internal modes may arise in the point spectrum of the linearization about the domain wall profile. We explore some of the key characteristics of kink-antikink collisions, such as the critical velocity and the multi-bounce windows, and how they depend on the principal parameter of the model. We find that the critical velocity exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on the parameter controlling the curvature of the potential. For the multi-bounce windows, we find that their range and complexity decrease as the relevant parameter decreases (and as the number of internal modes in the model increases). We use a modified collective coordinates method [in the spirit of recent works such as {Phys.\ Rev.\ D} {\bf 94}, 085008 (2016)] in order to capture the relevant phenomenology in a semi-analytical manner.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Evaluating the Robustness of Rogue Waves Under Perturbations

Rogue waves, and their periodic counterparts, have been shown to exist in a number of integrable models. However, relatively little is known about the existence of these objects in models where an exact formula is unattainable. In this work, we develop a novel numerical perspective towards identifying such states as localized solutions in space-time. Importantly, we illustrate that this methodology in addition to benchmarking known solutions (and confirming their numerical propagation under controllable error) enables the continuation of such solutions over parametric variations to non-integrable models. As a result, we can answer in the positive the question about the parametric robustness of Peregrine-like waveforms and even of generalizations thereof on a cnoidal wave background.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Krein Signature in Hamiltonian and $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Systems

We explain the concept of Krein signature in Hamiltonian and $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric systems on the case study of the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a real harmonic potential and an imaginary linear potential. These potentials correspond to the magnetic trap, and a linear gain/loss in the mean-field model of cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates. For the linearized Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we introduce the real-valued Krein quantity, which is nonzero if the eigenvalue is neutrally stable and simple and zero if the eigenvalue is unstable. If the neutrally stable eigenvalue is simple, it persists with respect to perturbations. However, if it is multiple, it may split into unstable eigenvalues under perturbations. A necessary condition for the onset of instability past the bifurcation point requires existence of two simple neutrally stable eigenvalues of opposite Krein signatures before the bifurcation point. This property is useful in the parameter continuations of neutrally stable eigenvalues of the linearized Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Bright Breathers in Nonlinear Left-Handed Metamaterial Lattices

In the present work, we examine a prototypical model for the formation of bright breathers in nonlinear left-handed metamaterial lattices. Utilizing the paradigm of nonlinear transmission lines, we build a relevant lattice and develop a quasi-continuum multiscale approximation that enables us to appreciate both the underlying linear dispersion relation and the potential for bifurcation of nonlinear states. We focus here, more specifically, on bright discrete breathers which bifurcate from the lower edge of the linear dispersion relation at wavenumber $k=π$. Guided by the multiscale analysis, we calculate numerically both the stable inter-site centered and the unstable site-centered members of the relevant family. We quantify the associated stability via Floquet analysis and the Peierls-Nabarro barrier of the energy difference between these branches. Finally, we explore the dynamical implications of these findings towards the potential mobility or lack thereof (pinning) of such breather solutions.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Demonstration of dispersive rarefaction shocks in hollow elliptical cylinder chains

We report an experimental and numerical demonstration of dispersive rarefaction shocks (DRS) in a 3D-printed soft chain of hollow elliptical cylinders. We find that, in contrast to conventional nonlinear waves, these DRS have their lower amplitude components travel faster, while the higher amplitude ones propagate slower. This results in the backward-tilted shape of the front of the wave (the rarefaction segment) and the breakage of wave tails into a modulated waveform (the dispersive shock segment). Examining the DRS under various impact conditions, we find the counter-intuitive feature that the higher striker velocity causes the slower propagation of the DRS. These unique features can be useful for mitigating impact controllably and efficiently without relying on material damping or plasticity effects.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Extreme events in near integrable lattices

In the present work, we examine the potential robustness of extreme wave events associated with large amplitude fluctuations of the Peregrine soliton type, upon departure from the integrable analogue of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation, namely the Ablowitz-Ladik (AL) model. Our model of choice will be the so-called Salerno model, which interpolates between the AL and the DNLS models. We find that rogue wave events essentially are drastically distorted even for very slight perturbations of the homotopic parameter connecting the two models off of the integrable limit. Our results suggest that the Peregrine soliton structure is a rather sensitive feature of the integrable limit, which may not persist under "generic" perturbations of the limiting integrable case.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

A Toolkit For Steady States of Nonlinear Wave Equations: Continuous Time Nesterov and Exponential Time Differencing Schemes

Several methods exist for finding ground (as well as excited) states of nonlinear waves equations. In this paper we first introduce two modifications of the so-called accelerated imaginary-time evolution method (AITEM). In our first modification, time integration of the underlying gradient flow is done using exponential time differencing instead of using more standard methods. In the second modification, we present a generalization of the gradient flow model, motivated by the work of Nesterov, as well as that of Candes and collaborators. Additionally, we consider combinations of these methods with the so-called spectral renormalization scheme. Finally, we apply these techniques to the so-called Squared Operator Method, enabling convergence to excited states. Various examples are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of these new schemes, comparing them to standard ones established in the literature. In most cases, we find significant reductions in the number of iterations needed to reach convergence.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

Traveling dark-bright solitons in a reduced spin-orbit coupled system: application to Bose-Einstein condensates

In the present work, we explore the potential of spin-orbit (SO) coupled Bose-Einstein condensates to support multi-component solitonic states in the form of dark-bright (DB) solitons. In the case where Raman linear coupling between components is absent, we use a multiscale expansion method to reduce the model to the integrable Mel'nikov system. The soliton solutions of the latter allow us to reconstruct approximate traveling DB solitons for the reduced SO coupled system. For small values of the formal perturbation parameter, the resulting waveforms propagate undistorted, while for large values thereof, they shed some dispersive radiation, and subsequently distill into a robust propagating structure. After quantifying the relevant radiation effect, we also study the dynamics of DB solitons in a parabolic trap, exploring how their oscillation frequency varies as a function of the bright component mass and the Raman laser wavenumber.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2017

A Korteweg-de Vries description of dark solitons in polariton superfluids

We study the dynamics of dark solitons in an incoherently pumped exciton-polariton condensate by means of a system composed by a generalized open-dissipative Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the polaritons' wavefunction and a rate equation for the exciton reservoir density. Considering a perturbative regime of sufficiently small reservoir excitations, we use the reductive perturbation method, to reduce the system to a Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation with linear loss. This model is used to describe the analytical form and the dynamics of dark solitons. We show that the polariton field supports decaying dark soliton solutions with a decay rate determined analytically in the weak pumping regime. We also find that the dark soliton evolution is accompanied by a shelf, whose dynamics follows qualitatively the effective KdV picture.

nlin.PS↗