BGK states from the bump-on-tail instability

Numerical computations are presented of the BGK-like states that emerge beyond the saturation of the bump-on-tail instability in the Vlasov-Poisson system. The stability of these states towards subharmonic perturbations is explored in order to gauge whether the primary bump-on-tail instability always suffers a secondary instability that precipitates wave mergers and coarsening of the BGK pattern. Because the onset of the bump-on-tail instability occurs at finite wavenumber, and the spatially homogeneous state is not itself unstable to spatial subharmonics, it is demonstrated that mergers and coarsening do not always occur, and the dynamics displays a richer spatio-temporal complexity.     

A hierarchy of coupled maps

A large number of logistic maps are coupled together as a mathematical metaphor for complex natural systems with hierarchical organization. The elementary maps are first collected into globally coupled lattices. These lattices are then coupled together in a hierarchical way to form a system with many degrees of freedom. We summarize the behavior of the individual blocks, and then explore the dynamics of the hierarchy. We offer some ideas that guide our understanding of this type of system. (c) 2002 American Institute of Physics.     

Synchronizing Moore and Spiegel

This paper presents a study of bifurcations and synchronization {in the sense of Pecora and Carroll [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 821-824 (1990)]} in the Moore-Spiegel oscillator equations. Complicated patterns of period-doubling, saddle-node, and homoclinic bifurcations are found and analyzed. Synchronization is demonstrated by numerical experiment, periodic orbit expansion, and by using coordinate transformations. Synchronization via the resetting of a coordinate after a fixed interval is also successful in some cases. The Moore-Spiegel system is one of a general class of dynamical systems and synchronization is considered in this more general context. (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics.     

Master-slave synchronization and the Lorenz equations

Since the seminal remark by Pecora and Carroll [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 821 (1990)] that one can synchronize chaotic systems, the main example in the related literature has been the Lorenz equations. Yet this literature contains a mixture of true and false, and of justified and unsubstantiated claims about the synchronization properties of the Lorenz equations. In this note we clarify some of the confusion. (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics.     

A Necessary and Sufficient Instability Condition for Inviscid Shear Flow

We derive a condition that is necessary and sufficient for the instability of inviscid, two-dimensional, plane-parallel, shear flow with equilibrium velocity profiles that are monotonic, real analytic, functions of the cross-stream coordinate. The analysis, which is based upon the Nyquist method, includes a means for delineating the possible kinds of bifurcations that involve the presence of the continuous spectrum, including those that occur at nonzero wave number. Several examples are given.     

Extensional dynamics of viscoplastic filaments: II. Drips and bridges

A model for the dynamics of slender filaments of Herschel–Bulkley fluid is used to explore viscoplastic dripping under gravity and thinning under controlled extension (liquid bridges). The conditions required for fluid to yield are delineated, and the subsequent thinning and progression to pinch-off are tracked numerically. Calculations varying the dimensionless parameters of the problem are presented to illustrate the effect of surface tension, rheology, inertia (for dripping) and gravity. The theoretical solutions are compared with laboratory experiments using aqueous solutions of Carbopol and Kaolin suspensions. For drips and bridges, experiments with Carbopol are well matched by the theory, using a surface tension equal to that of water, even in situations when the fluid is not slender. Experiments with Kaolin do not compare well with theory for physically plausible values of the surface tension. Implications for rheometry and surface-tension inference are discussed.     

Synchronized family dynamics in globally coupled maps

The dynamics of a globally coupled, logistic map lattice is explored over a parameter plane consisting of the coupling strength, varepsilon, and the map parameter, a. By considering simple periodic orbits of relatively small lattices, and then an extensive set of initial-value calculations, the phenomenology of solutions over the parameter plane is broadly classified. The lattice possesses many stable solutions, except for sufficiently large coupling strengths, where the lattice elements always synchronize, and for small map parameter, where only simple fixed points are found. For smaller varepsilon and larger a, there is a portion of the parameter plane in which chaotic, asynchronous lattices are found. Over much of the parameter plane, lattices converge to states in which the maps are partitioned into a number of synchronized families. The dynamics and stability of two-family states (solutions partitioned into two families) are explored in detail. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics.     

On the buckling of elastic plates

The Föppl-von Kármán equations are used toexplore the onset of linear instability and the subsequent nonlineardevelopment of buckling patterns in a flat elastic plate dueto an imposed shear or body force such as gravity. Experimentalresults are also presented for a clamped and sheared sheet ofNeoprene rubber and these compare favourably with theory.