arXiv subjects

Panayotis G. Kevrekidis

Publications and source records attributed to Panayotis G. Kevrekidis.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Orbital stability of kinks in the NLS equation with competing nonlinearities

Kinks connecting zero and nonzero equilibria in the NLS equation with competing nonlinearities occur at the special values of the frequency parameter. Since they are minimizers of energy, they are expected to be orbitally stable in the time evolution of the NLS equation. However, the stability proof is complicated by the degeneracy of kinks near the nonzero equilibrium. The main purpose of this work is to give a rigorous proof of the orbital stability of kinks. We give details of analysis for the cubic--quintic NLS equation and show how the proof is extended to the general case.

math.AP↗

arXiv2025

Data-driven Soliton Manifold Approximations for Dark and Bright Waves: Some Prototypical 1d Case Examples

In this paper, we revisit the investigation of solitary-wave interactions in the nonlinear Schrödinger model, both in the presence and absence of a parabolic trapping potential. While approximate dynamics, based on variational or similar methods, governed by a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) for both bright and dark-soliton interactions have been well established in the literature based on physical expert considerations, this study focuses on a data-driven approach, the so-called Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDy). Accordingly, our purpose is to use PDE time-series of select waveform diag- nostics in order to numerically reconstruct such approximate dynamics, without prior knowledge thereof. The purpose is not only to verify the robustness of the dynamical approximated ODEs, but also to shed light on the application of such a data-driven methodology in the study of soliton interactions and to formu- late a complementary approach, more reliant on the wealth of PDE data and less so on expert theoretical constructs.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Topological edge states and amplitude-dependent delocalization in quasiperiodic elliptically geared lattices

We present a class of mechanical lattices based on elliptical gears with quasiperiodic modulation and geometric nonlinearity, capable of exhibiting topologically protected modes and amplitude-driven transitions. Starting from a one-dimensional chain of modulated elliptical gears, we demonstrate the emergence of localized edge states arising from quasiperiodic variation in the gears' moments of inertia, analogous to the topological edge modes of the Aubry-Andre-Harper model. Under increasing excitation amplitude, the system undergoes a nonlinear transition, where edge localization breaks down and energy delocalizes into the bulk. By coupling multiple such chains with varying modulation phase, we construct a two-dimensional lattice in which the phase acts as a synthetic dimension. This structure supports topological wave propagation along the synthetic dimension. Nonlinearity again induces a breakdown of topological states, leading to complex, amplitude-dependent wave propagation. We further propose a numerical continuation approach to analyzing the periodic orbits and their linear stability, effectively discovering the boundary of the basin of bounded motion and detecting the occurrence of delocalization under certain excitation amplitudes. Our results reveal that elliptical geared systems offer a passive, amplitude-dependent platform for exploring topological phenomena and synthetic dimensionality in mechanical metamaterials.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2025

Parametric Resonance in the Non-Autonomous Sine-Gordon Model

The sine-Gordon model is studied with model parameters that depend on both space and time. An effective model with one degree of freedom is constructed, allowing the description of the kink movement in both a temporally non-autonomous and spatially inhomogeneous setting. As a highly demanding test of the reduced model, the case of a temporal drive leading to a parametric instability is considered. Here, the boundaries of the instability region in the form of Arnold tongues were examined in both the simplified effective model and the full field model. Good agreement was obtained as concerns the regions of stability. It was observed that only in the bottom parts of Arnold's tongues is the dynamics of the field model more complicated than in the approximate model.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

First-order continuum models for nonlinear dispersive waves in the granular crystal lattice

We derive and analyze, analytically and numerically, two first-order continuum models to approximate the nonlinear dynamics of granular crystal lattices, focusing specifically on solitary waves, periodic waves, and dispersive shock waves. The dispersive shock waves predicted by the two continuum models are studied using modulation theory, DSW fitting techniques, and direct numerical simulations. The PDE-based predictions show good agreement with the DSWs generated by the discrete model simulation of the granular lattice itself, even in cases where no precompression is present and the lattice is purely nonlinear. Such an effective description could prove useful for future, more analytically amenable approximations of the original lattice system.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

A regularized continuum model for traveling waves and dispersive shocks of the granular chain

In this paper we focus on a discrete physical model describing granular crystals, whose equations of motion can be described by a system of differential difference equations (DDEs). After revisiting earlier continuum approximations, we propose a regularized continuum model variant to approximate the discrete granular crystal model through a suitable partial differential equation (PDE). We then compute, both analytically and numerically, its traveling wave and periodic traveling wave solutions, in addition to its conservation laws. Next, using the periodic solutions, we describe quantitatively various features of the dispersive shock wave (DSW) by applying Whitham modulation theory and the DSW fitting method. Finally, we perform several sets of systematic numerical simulations to compare the corresponding DSW results with the theoretical predictions and illustrate that the continuum model provides a good approximation of the underlying discrete one.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Borel-Padé exponential asymptotics for the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger model with next-to-nearest neighbour interactions

In the present work we study discrete nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger models combining nearest (NN) and next-nearest (NNN) neighbor interactions, motivated by experiments in waveguide arrays. While we consider the more experimentally accessible case of positive ratio $μ$ of NNN to NN interactions, we focus on the intriguing case of competing such interactions $(μ<0)$, where stationary states can exist only for $-1/4 < μ< 0$. We analyze the key eigenvalues for the stability of the pulse-like stationary (ground) states, and find that such modes depend exponentially on the coupling parameter $\eps$, with suitable polynomial prefactors and corrections that we analyze in detail. Very good agreement of the resulting predictions is found with systematic numerical computations of the associated eigenvalues. This analysis uses Borel-Padé exponential asymptotics to determine Stokes multipliers in the solution; these multipliers cannot be obtained using standard matched asymptotic expansion approaches as they are hidden beyond all asymptotic orders, even near singular points. By using Borel-Padé methods near the singularity, we construct a general asymptotic template for studying parametric problems which require the calculation of subdominant Stokes multipliers.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Robust Moment Identification for Nonlinear PDEs via a Neural ODE Approach

We propose a data-driven framework for learning reduced-order moment dynamics from PDE-governed systems using Neural ODEs. In contrast to derivative-based methods like SINDy, which necessitate densely sampled data and are sensitive to noise, our approach based on Neural ODEs directly models moment trajectories, enabling robust learning from sparse and potentially irregular time series. Using as an application platform the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the framework accurately recovers governing moment dynamics when closure is available, even with limited and irregular observations. For systems without analytical closure, we introduce a data-driven coordinate transformation strategy based on Stiefel manifold optimization, enabling the discovery of low-dimensional representations in which the moment dynamics become closed, facilitating interpretable and reliable modeling. We also explore cases where a closure model is not known, such as a Fisher-KPP reaction-diffusion system. Here we demonstrate that Neural ODEs can still effectively approximate the unclosed moment dynamics and achieve superior extrapolation accuracy compared to physical-expert-derived ODE models. This advantage remains robust even under sparse and irregular sampling, highlighting the method's robustness in data-limited settings. Our results highlight the Neural ODE framework as a powerful and flexible tool for learning interpretable, low-dimensional moment dynamics in complex PDE-governed systems.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Kink Dynamics in a Non-Autonomous Sine-Gordon Model

The sine-Gordon model with space- and time-dependent parameters is considered. A highly accurate effective model with two degrees of freedom is constructed, allowing the description of the kink movement in this model even for extremely long times and nontrivial trajectories of the coherent structure. As a stringent test of the reduced order model, the case of a temporal drive leading to extremely complex kink motion is studied. The two-degree-of-freedom approximation is found to faithfully reproduce the behavior of the full field-theoretic model paving the way for both deeper understanding and improved design of soliton-based devices.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Unveiling Solitonic Collisions in Mechanical Metamaterials

Interactions between solitary waves have been pivotal to understanding nonlinear phenomena across various disciplines. The dynamics of rarefaction solitary waves holds great potential, yet their fundamental characteristics and interactions remain only partially understood through experimental means in mechanical metamaterials. Previous studies highlighted their existence and proposed applications, such as waveguides, impact mitigation, and energy harvesting. Challenges, including energy dissipation and a lack of precise measurement techniques, have hindered deeper exploration, most notably of solitonic collisions. In this work, we provide a definitive platform for examining pure rarefaction solitons propagating through a strain-softening mechanical lattice, addressing these challenges. Employing a theoretical framework based on the Boussinesq approximation and multiple-scale analysis, we predict soliton behavior, including phase shifts resulting from head-on collisions. These theoretical insights are corroborated through numerical simulations and systematic experiments designed to generate and measure pure rarefaction solitons with high precision. Both symmetric and asymmetric collisions are examined, revealing practically elastic interaction behaviors and amplitude-dependent phase shifts. Furthermore, collision dynamics, such as speed and phase shifts during rarefaction soliton collisions, from the experimental results show agreement with theoretical and numerical models. These results validate our experimental platform and findings, underscoring the potential of mechanical rarefaction solitons as robust, controllable wave packets. This suggests a robust paradigm for exploring nonlinear wave interactions in mechanical systems, opening new application avenues in mechanical metamaterials, such as wave-based computing and advanced signal processing.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

NLS approximation and dark solitons for the Adlam-Allen model of cold collisionless plasmas

The present work extends earlier considerations on a quintessential model of cold, collisionless plasmas, namely the Adlam-Allen model. Previously, an analysis of homoclinic solutions around a non-vanishing background (associated with a saddle equilibrium) led to a Korteweg-de Vries reduction. Here, we consider a different equilibrium of the co-traveling frame model, namely a center, and expanding around it, by means of a multiple-scale methodology and suitable scalings, leads to an effective defocusing nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger equation. Leveraging the latter, we construct, for the first time to our knowledge, physically realistic dark soliton waveforms of the Adlam-Allen model. We subsequently test the numerical evolution of such coherent structures, identifying them as long-lived waveforms of the full model.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2025

Multi-hump Collapsing Solutions in the Nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger Problem: Existence, Stability and Dynamics

In the present work we examine multi-hump solutions of the nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger equation in the blowup regime of the one-dimensional model with power law nonlinearity, bearing a suitable exponent of $σ>2$. We find that families of such solutions exist for arbitrary pulse numbers, with all of them bifurcating from the critical case of $σ=2$. Remarkably, all of them involve ``bifurcations from infinity'', i.e., the pulses come inward from an infinite distance as the exponent $σ$ increases past the critical point. The position of the pulses is quantified and the stability of the waveforms is also systematically examined in the so-called ``co-exploding frame''. Both the equilibrium distance between the pulse peaks and the point spectrum eigenvalues associated with the multi-hump configurations are obtained as a function of the blowup rate $G$ theoretically, and these findings are supported by detailed numerical computations. Finally, some prototypical dynamical scenarios are explored, and an outlook towards such multi-hump solutions in higher dimensions is provided.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

On the discrete Kuznetsov-Ma solutions for the defocusing Ablowitz-Ladik equation with large background amplitude

The focus of this work is on a class of solutions of the defocusing Ablowitz-Ladik lattice on an arbitrarily large background which are discrete analogs of the Kuznetsov-Ma (KM) breathers of the focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation. One such solution was obtained in 2019 as a byproduct of the Inverse Scattering Transform, and it was observed that the solution could be regular for certain choices of the soliton parameters, but its regularity was not analyzed in detail. This work provides a systematic investigation of the conditions on the background and on the spectral parameters that guarantee the KM solution to be non-singular on the lattice for all times. Furthermore, a novel KM-type breather solution is presented which is also regular on the lattice under the same conditions. We also employ Darboux transformations to obtain a multi-KM breather solution, and show that parameters choices exist for which a double KM breather solution is regular on the lattice. We analyze the features of these solutions, including their frequency which, when tending to 0, renders them proximal to rogue waveforms. Finally, numerical results on the stability and spatio-temporal dynamics of the single KM breathers are presented, showcasing the potential destabilization of the obtained states due to the modulational instability of their background.

nlin.SI↗

arXiv2024

Kink movement on a periodic background

The behavior of the kink in the sine-Gordon (sG) model in the presence of periodic inhomogeneity is studied. An ansatz is proposed that allows for the construction of a reliable effective model with two degrees of freedom. Effective models with excellent agreement with the original field-theoretic partial differential equation are constructed, including in the non-perturbative region and for relativistic velocities. The numerical solutions of the sG model describing the evolution of the kink in the presence of a barrier as well as in the case of a periodic heterogeneity under the potential additional influence of a switched bias current and/or dissipation were obtained. The results of the field equation and the effective models were compared. The effect of the choice of initial conditions in the field model on the agreement of the results with the effective model is discussed.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

On the proximity of Ablowitz-Ladik and discrete Nonlinear Schrödinger models: A theoretical and numerical study of Kuznetsov-Ma solutions

In this work, we investigate the formation of time-periodic solutions with a non-zero background that emulate rogue waves, known as Kuzentsov-Ma (KM) breathers, in physically relevant lattice nonlinear dynamical systems. Starting from the completely integrable Ablowitz-Ladik (AL) model, we demonstrate that the evolution of KM initial data is proximal to that of the non-integrable discrete Nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation for certain parameter values of the background amplitude and breather frequency. This finding prompts us to investigate the distance (in certain norms) between the evolved solutions of both models, for which we rigorously derive and numerically confirm an upper bound. Finally, our studies are complemented by a two-parameter (background amplitude and frequency) bifurcation analysis of numerically exact, KM-type breather solutions to the DNLS equation. Alongside the stability analysis of these waveforms reported herein, this work additionally showcases potential parameter regimes where such waveforms with a flat background may emerge in the DNLS setting.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

Radial kinks in a Schwarzschild-like geometry

We study the propagation of a domain wall (kink) of the $ϕ^4$ model in a radially symmetric environment defined by a gravity source. This source deforms the standard Euclidian metric into a Schwarzschild-like one. We introduce an effective model that accurately describes the dynamics of the kink center. This description works well even outside the perturbation region, i.e., even for large masses of the gravitating object. We observed that such a spherical domain wall surrounding a star-type object inevitably "collapses", i.e., shrinks in radius towards the origin and offer an understanding of the latter phenomenology. The relevant analysis is presented for a circular domain wall and a spherical one.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

Data-Driven Discovery of Conservation Laws from Trajectories via Neural Deflation

In an earlier work by a subset of the present authors, the method of the so-called neural deflation was introduced towards identifying a complete set of functionally independent conservation laws of a nonlinear dynamical system. Here, we extend by a significant step this proposal. Instead of using the explicit knowledge of the underlying equations of motion, we develop the method directly from system trajectories. This is crucial towards enhancing the practical implementation of the method in scenarios where solely data reflecting discrete snapshots of the system are available. We showcase the results of the method and the number of associated conservation laws obtained in a diverse range of examples including 1D and 2D harmonic oscillators, the Toda lattice, the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou lattice and the Calogero-Moser system.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

On-demand realization of topological states using Miura-folded metamaterials

Recent advancements in topological metamaterials have unveiled fruitful physics and numerous applications. Whereas initial efforts focus on achieving topologically protected edge states through principles of structural symmetry, the burgeoning field now aspires to customize topological states, tailoring their emergence and frequency. Here, our study presents the realization of topological phase transitions utilizing compliant mechanisms on the facets of Miura-folded metamaterials. This approach induces two opposite topological phases, leading to topological states at the interface. Moreover, we exploit the unique folding behavior of Miura-folded metamaterials to tune the frequency of topological states and dynamically toggle their presence. Our research not only paves the way for inducing topological phase transitions in Miura-folded structures but also enables the on-demand control of topological states, with promising applications in wave manipulation and vibration isolation.

physics.app-ph↗