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Peter D. Miller

Publications and source records attributed to Peter D. Miller.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2013

Large-degree asymptotics of rational Painleve-II functions. I

Rational solutions of the inhomogeneous Painleve-II equation and of a related coupled Painleve-II system have recently arisen in studies of fluid vortices and of the sine-Gordon equation. For the sine-Gordon application in particular it is of interest to understand the large-degree asymptotic behavior of the rational Painleve-II functions. We explicitly compute the leading-order large-degree asymptotics of these two families of rational functions valid in the whole complex plane with the exception of a neighborhood of a certain piecewise-smooth closed curve. We obtain rigorous error bounds by using the Deift-Zhou nonlinear steepest-descent method for Riemann-Hilbert problems.

math-ph↗
arXiv2013

Graphical Krein Signature Theory and Evans-Krein Functions

Two concepts, very different in nature, have proved to be useful in analytical and numerical studies of spectral stability: (i) the Krein signature of an eigenvalue, a quantity usually defined in terms of the relative orientation of certain subspaces that is capable of detecting the structural instability of imaginary eigenvalues and hence their potential for moving into the right half-plane leading to dynamical instability under perturbation of the system, and (ii) the Evans function, an analytic function detecting the location of eigenvalues. One might expect these two concepts to be related, but unfortunately examples demonstrate that there is no way in general to deduce the Krein signature of an eigenvalue from the Evans function. The purpose of this paper is to recall and popularize a simple graphical interpretation of the Krein signature well-known in the spectral theory of polynomial operator pencils. This interpretation avoids altogether the need to view the Krein signature in terms of root subspaces and their relation to indefinite quadratic forms. To demonstrate the utility of this graphical interpretation of the Krein signature, we use it to define a simple generalization of the Evans function -- the Evans-Krein function -- that allows the calculation of Krein signatures in a way that is easy to incorporate into existing Evans function evaluation codes at virtually no additional computational cost. The graphical Krein signature also enables us to give elegant proofs of index theorems for linearized Hamiltonians in the finite dimensional setting: a general result implying as a corollary the generalized Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion (or Grillakis-Shatah-Strauss criterion) and a count of real eigenvalues for linearized Hamiltonian systems in canonical form. These applications demonstrate how the simple graphical nature of the Krein signature may be easily exploited.

math.SP↗
arXiv2013

On the stability analysis of periodic sine-Gordon traveling waves

We study the spectral stability properties of periodic traveling waves in the sine-Gordon equation, including waves of both subluminal and superluminal propagation velocities as well as waves of both librational and rotational types. We prove that only subluminal rotational waves are spectrally stable and establish exponential instability in the other three cases. Our proof corrects a frequently cited one given by Scott.

math.AP↗
arXiv2012

The semiclassical modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation II: asymptotic analysis of the Cauchy problem. The elliptic region for transsonic initial data

We begin a study of a multi-parameter family of Cauchy initial-value problems for the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation, analyzing the solution in the semiclassical limit. We use the inverse scattering transform for this equation, along with the steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou. The initial conditions are selected both to allow all relevant scattering data to be calculated without approximation and also to place the governing equation in a transsonic state in which the quantum fluid dynamical system formally approximating it is of hyperbolic type for some $x$ and of elliptic type for other $x$. Our main result is a global approximation theorem valid in a maximal space-time region connected to the elliptic part of the initial data.

nlin.SI↗
arXiv2011

On the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the semiclassical limit: supersonic, subsonic, and transsonic behavior

The purpose of this paper is to present a comparison between the modified nonlinear Schrödinger (MNLS) equation and the focusing and defocusing variants of the (unmodified) nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation in the semiclassical limit. We describe aspects of the limiting dynamics and discuss how the nature of the dynamics is evident theoretically through inverse-scattering and noncommutative steepest descent methods. The main message is that, depending on initial data, the MNLS equation can behave either like the defocusing NLS equation, like the focusing NLS equation (in both cases the analogy is asymptotically accurate in the semiclassical limit when the NLS equation is posed with appropriately modified initial data), or like an interesting mixture of the two. In the latter case, we identify a feature of the dynamics analogous to a sonic line in gas dynamics, a free boundary separating subsonic flow from supersonic flow.

nlin.SI↗
arXiv2011

The sine-Gordon equation in the semiclassical limit: critical behavior near a separatrix

We study the Cauchy problem for the sine-Gordon equation in the semiclassical limit with pure-impulse initial data of sufficient strength to generate both high-frequency rotational motion near the peak of the impulse profile and also high-frequency librational motion in the tails. Subject to suitable conditions of a general nature, we analyze the fluxon condensate solution approximating the given initial data for small time near points where the initial data crosses the separatrix of the phase portrait of the simple pendulum. We show that the solution is locally constructed as a universal curvilinear grid of superluminal kinks and grazing collisions thereof, with the grid curves being determined from rational solutions of the Painleve-II system.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

The sine-Gordon equation in the semiclassical limit: dynamics of fluxon condensates

We study the Cauchy problem for the sine-Gordon equation in the semiclassical limit with pure-impulse initial data of sufficient strength to generate both high-frequency rotational motion near the peak of the impulse profile and also high-frequency librational motion in the tails. We show that for small times independent of the semiclassical scaling parameter, both types of motion are accurately described by explicit formulae involving elliptic functions. These formulae demonstrate consistency with predictions of Whitham's formal modulation theory in both the hyperbolic (modulationally stable) and elliptic (modulationally unstable) cases.

math-ph↗
arXiv2011

The Benjamin-Ono Hierarchy with Asymptotically Reflectionless Initial Data in the Zero-Dispersion Limit

We study the Benjamin-Ono hierarchy with positive initial data of a general type, in the limit when the dispersion parameter tends to zero. We establish simple formulae for the limits (in appropriate weak or distributional senses) of an infinite family of simultaneously conserved densities in terms of alternating sums of branches of solutions of the inviscid Burgers hierarchy.

nlin.SI↗
arXiv2007

The Semiclassical Modified Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation I: Modulation Theory and Spectral Analysis

We study an integrable modification of the focusing nonlinear Schroedinger equation from the point of view of semiclassical asymptotics. In particular, (i) we establish several important consequences of the mixed-type limiting quasilinear system including the existence of maps that embed the limiting forms of both the focusing and defocusing nonlinear Schroedinger equations into the framework of a single limiting system for the modified equation, (ii) we obtain bounds for the location of discrete spectrum for the associated spectral problem that are particularly suited to the semiclassical limit and that generalize known results for the spectrum of the nonselfadjoint Zakharov-Shabat spectral problem, and (iii) we present a multiparameter family of initial data for which we solve the associated spectral problem in terms of special functions for all values of the semiclassical scaling parameter. We view our results as part of a broader project to analyze the semiclassical limit of the modified nonlinear Schroedinger equation via the noncommutative steepest descent procedure of Deift and Zhou, and we also present a self-contained development of a Riemann-Hilbert problem of inverse scattering that differs from those given in the literature and that is well-adapted to semiclassical asymptotics.

nlin.SI↗
arXiv2005

The N-soliton of the focusing nonlinear Schroedinger equation for N large

We present a detailed analysis of the solution of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation with initial condition $ψ(x,0)=N {\rm sech}(x)$ in the limit $N\to\infty$. We begin by presenting new and more accurate numerical reconstructions of the $N$-soliton by inverse scattering (numerical linear algebra) for N=5, 10, 20, and 40. We then recast the inverse-scattering problem as a Riemann-Hilbert problem and provide a rigorous asymptotic analysis of this problem in the large-N limit. For those $(x,t)$ where results have been obtained by other authors, we improve the error estimates from $O(N^{-1/3})$ to $O(N^{-1})$. We also analyze the Fourier power spectrum in this regime and relate the results to the optical phenomenon of supercontinuum generation. We then study the $N$-soliton for values of $(x,t)$ where analysis has not been carried out before, and we uncover new phenomena. The main discovery of this paper is the mathematical mechanism for a secondary caustic (phase transition), which turns out to differ from the mechanism that generates the primary caustic. The mechanism for the generation of the secondary caustic depends essentially on the discrete nature of the spectrum for the $N$-soliton, and more significantly, cannot be recovered from an analysis of an ostensibly similar Riemann-Hilbert problem in the conditions of which a certain formal continuum limit is taken on an {\em ad hoc} basis

nlin.SI↗
arXiv2002

Uniform Asymptotics for Polynomials Orthogonal With Respect to a General Class of Discrete Weights and Universality Results for Associated Ensembles: Announcement of Results

We compute the pointwise asymptotics of orthogonal polynomials with respect to a general class of pure point measures supported on finite sets as both the number of nodes of the measure and also the degree of the orthogonal polynomials become large. The class of orthogonal polynomials we consider includes as special cases the Krawtchouk and Hahn classical discrete orthogonal polynomials, but is far more general. In particular, we consider nodes that are not necessarily equally spaced. The asymptotic results are given with error bound for all points in the complex plane except for a finite union of discs of arbitrarily small but fixed radii. These exceptional discs are the neighborhoods of the so-called band edges of the associated equilibrium measure. As applications, we prove universality results for correlation functions of a general class of discrete orthogonal polynomial ensembles, and in particular we deduce asymptotic formulae with error bound for certain statistics relevant in the random tiling of a hexagon with rhombus-shaped tiles. The discrete orthogonal polynomials are characterized in terms of a a Riemann-Hilbert problem formulated for a meromorphic matrix with certain pole conditions. By extending the methods of [17, 22], we suggest a general and unifying approach to handle Riemann-Hilbert problems in the situation when poles of the unknown matrix are accumulating on some set in the asymptotic limit of interest.

math.CA↗
arXiv2000

Soliton Interactions in Perturbed Nonlinear Schroedinger Equations

We use multiscale perturbation theory in conjunction with the inverse scattering transform to study the interaction of a number of solitons of the cubic nonlinear Schroedinger equation under the influence of a small correction to the nonlinear potential. We assume that the solitons are all moving with the same velocity at the initial instant; this maximizes the effect each soliton has on the others as a consequence of the perturbation. Over the long time scales that we consider, the amplitudes of the solitons remain fixed, while their center of mass coordinates obey Newton's equations with a force law for which we present an integral formula. For the interaction of two solitons with a quintic perturbation term we present more details since symmetries -- one related to the form of the perturbation and one related to the small number of particles involved -- allow the problem to be reduced to a one-dimensional one with a single parameter, an effective mass. The main results include calculations of the binding energy and oscillation frequency of nearby solitons in the stable case when the perturbation is an attractive correction to the potential and of the asymptotic "ejection" velocity in the unstable case. Numerical experiments illustrate the accuracy of the perturbative calculations and indicate their range of validity.

patt-sol↗