The effects of cubic potentials on discrete breathers in a mixed Klein－Gordon /Fermi－Pasta－Ulam chain

Nonlinearity has a crucial impact on the symmetry properties of dynamical systems. This paper studies a one-dimensional mixed Klein--Gordon/Fermi--Pasta--Ulam diatomic chain using the expanded rotating plane-wave approximation and numerical calculations to determine the effect of cubic potentials on the symmetry properties of discrete breathers in this system. The results will be very useful to researchers in the field of numerical calculations on discrete breathers.     

Discrete breathers

Nonlinear classical Hamiltonian lattices exhibit generic solutions in the form of discrete breathers. These solutions are time-periodic and (typically exponentially) localized in space. The lattices exhibit discrete translational symmetry. Discrete breathers are not confined to certain lattice dimensions. Necessary ingredients for their occurrence are the existence of upper bounds on the phonon spectrum (of small fluctuations around the groundstate) of the system as well as the nonlinearity in the differential equations. We will present existence proofs, formulate necessary existence conditions, and discuss structural stability of discrete breathers. The following results will be also discussed: the creation of breathers through tangent bifurcation of band edge plane waves; dynamical stability; details of the spatial decay; numerical methods of obtaining breathers; interaction of breathers with phonons and electrons; movability; influence of the lattice dimension on discrete breather properties; quantum lattices — quantum breathers.Finally we will formulate a new conceptual approach capable of predicting whether discrete breathers exist for a given system or not, without actually solving for the breather. We discuss potential applications in lattice dynamics of solids (especially molecular crystals), selective bond excitations in large molecules, dynamical properties of coupled arrays of Josephson junctions, and localization of electromagnetic waves in photonic crystals with nonlinear response.     

Discrete breathers — Advances in theory and applications

Nonlinear classical Hamiltonian lattices exhibit generic solutions — discrete breathers. They are time-periodic and (typically exponentially) localized in space. The lattices have discrete translational symmetry. Discrete breathers are not confined to certain lattice dimensions. We will introduce the concept of these localized excitations and review their basic properties including dynamical and structural stability. We then focus on advances in the theory of discrete breathers in three directions — scattering of waves by these excitations, persistence of discrete breathers in long transient processes and thermal equilibrium, and their quantization. The second part of this review is devoted to a detailed discussion of recent experimental observations and studies of discrete breathers, including theoretical modelling of these experimental situations on the basis of the general theory of discrete breathers. In particular we will focus on their detection in Josephson junction networks, arrays of coupled nonlinear optical waveguides, Bose–Einstein condensates loaded on optical lattices, antiferromagnetic layered structures, PtCl based single crystals and driven micromechanical cantilever arrays.     

Highly symmetric discrete breather in a two-dimensional Morse crystal

It has been shown recently that a moving discrete breathers localized in one close-packed atomic row can be excited in a two-dimensional monoatomic crystal with Morse interaction. In this work, a motionless discrete breathers having the threefold symmetry axis has been excited in the same crystal. The initial conditions for the excitation of such discrete breathers are set by the superposition of a bell-shaped function on a planar nonlinear phonon mode with the wave vector lying at the edge of the Brillouin zone. In addition, the displacement of the centers of atomic oscillations from the center of the discrete breathers owing to the asymmetry of the Morse potential is taken into account. The results obtained make it possible to approach the search for highly symmetric discrete breathers in three-dimensional crystals.     

Discrete gap breathers in a two-dimensional diatomic face-centered square lattice

In this paper we study the existence and stability of two-dimensional discrete gap breathers in a two-dimensional diatomic face-centered square lattice consisting of alternating light and heavy atoms, with on-site potential and coupling potential. This study is focused on two-dimensional breathers with their frequency in the gap that separates the acoustic and optical bands of the phonon spectrum. We demonstrate the possibility of the existence of two-dimensional gap breathers by using a numerical method. Six types of two-dimensional gap breathers are obtained, i.e., symmetric, mirror-symmetric and asymmetric, whether the center of the breather is on a light or a heavy atom. The difference between one-dimensional discrete gap breathers and two-dimensional discrete gap breathers is also discussed. We use Aubry's theory to analyze the stability of discrete gap breathers in the two-dimensional diatomic face-centered square lattice.     

Discrete breathers in a two-dimensional Morse lattice with an on-site harmonic potential

Two-dimensional discrete breathers in a two-dimensional Morse lattice with on-site harmonic potentials are investigated. Under the harmonic approximation, the linear dispersion relations for the triangular and the square lattices are discussed. The existence of discrete breathers in a two-dimensional Morse lattice with on-site harmonic potentials is proved by using local inharmonic approximation and the numerical method. The localization and amplitude of two-dimensional discrete breathers correlate closely to the Morse parameter a and the on-site parameter κ.     

Demonstration of the stability or instability of multibreathers at low coupling

Whereas there exists a mathematical proof for one-site breathers stability, and an unpublished one for two-site breathers, the methods for determining the stability properties of multibreathers rely on numerical computation of the Floquet multipliers or on the weak nonlinearity approximation leading to discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equations. Here we present a set of multibreather stability theorems (MST) that provides a simple method to determine multibreathers stability in Klein–Gordon systems. These theorems are based in the application of degenerate perturbation theory to Aubry’s band theory. We illustrate them with several examples.     

Discrete breathers in a model with Morse potentials

Under harmonic approximation, this paper discusses the linear dispersion relation of the one-dimensional chain. The existence and evolution of discrete breathers in a general one-dimensional chain are analysed for two particular examples of soft (Morse) and hard (quartic) on-site potentials. The existence of discrete breathers in one-dimensional and two-dimensional Morse lattices is proved by using rotating wave approximation, local anharmonic approximation and a numerical method. The localization and amplitude of discrete breathers in the two-dimensional Morse lattice with on-site harmonic potentials correlate closely to the Morse parameter a and the on-site parameter к.     

Two-dimensional discrete gap breathers in a two-dimensional discrete diatomic Klein-Gordon lattice

We study the existence and stability of two-dimensional discrete breathers in a two-dimensionai discrete diatomic Klein-Gordon lattice consisting of alternating light and heavy atoms, with nearest-neighbor harmonic coupling. Localized solutions to the corresponding nonlinear differential equations with frequencies inside the gap of the linear wave spectrum, i.e. two-dimensional gap breathers, are investigated numerically. The numerical results of the corresponding algebraic equations demonstrate the possibility of the existence of two-dimensional gap breathers with three types of symmetries, i.e., symmetric, twin-antisymmetric and single-antisymmetric. Their stability depends on the nonlinear on-site potential （soft or hard）, the interaction potential （attractive or repulsive） and the center of the two-dimensional gap breathers （on a light or a heavy atom）.     

Dissipative discrete breathers: periodic,quasiperiodic, chaotic,and mobile

The properties of discrete breathers in dissipative one-dimensional lattices of nonlinear oscillators subject to periodic driving forces are reviewed. We focus on oscillobreathers in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain and rotobreathers in a ladder of Josephson junctions. Both types of exponentially localized solutions are easily obtained numerically using adiabatic continuation from the anticontinuous limit. Linear stability (Floquet) analysis allows the characterization of different types of bifurcations experienced by periodic discrete breathers. Some of these bifurcations produce nonperiodic localized solutions, namely, quasiperiodic and chaotic discrete breathers, which are generally impossible as exact solutions in Hamiltonian systems. Within a certain range of parameters, propagating breathers occur as attractors of the dissipative dynamics. General features of these excitations are discussed and the Peierls-Nabarro barrier is addressed. Numerical scattering experiments with mobile breathers reveal the existence of two-breather bound states and allow a first glimpse at the intricate phenomenology of these special multibreather configurations.     

Influence of elastic strain on the density of phonon states and characteristics of discrete breathers in the gap of the phonon spectrum of a crystal with a NaCl structure

Appreciable elastic strain may considerably change the physical properties of crystals. This effect underlies the elastic stress technology, which has been intensively developed in recent years. The influence of elastic strain on the density of phonon states and on the properties of discrete breathers in the gap of the phonon spectrum of a crystal with a NaCl structure and a considerable difference between the anion and cation masses is studied using the molecular dynamics method. A number of crystal straining modes are considered. It is shown that the shear components of the strain tensor may significantly change the density of phonon states but slightly influence the frequencies of discrete breathers. Compression (tensile) strains raise (lower) the frequency of discrete breathers with a respective polarization.     

Two-Dimensional Discrete Gap Breathers in a Two-Dimensional Diatomic β Fermi--Pasta--Ulam Lattice

We study the existence of two-dimensional discrete breathers in a two-dimensional face-centred square lattice consisting of alternating light and heavy atoms, with nearest-neighbour coupling containing quartic soft or hardnonlinearity. This study is focused on two-dimensional breathers with frequency in the gap that separates the acoustic and optical bands of the phonon spectrum. We demonstrate the possibility of existence of two-dimensional gap breathers by using the numerical method, the local anharmonicity approximation and the rotating wave approximation. We obtain six types of two-dimensional gap breathers, i.e., symmetric, mirror-symmetric and asymmetric, no matter whether the centre of the breather is on a light or a heavy atom.     

Invariant tori in the discrete NLS with small amplitude diffraction management

We consider the question of persistence of breather solutions of the discrete NLS equation under time-periodic perturbations corresponding to small amplitude diffraction management. The question is formulated as a problem of continuation of tori in an infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian system with symmetries and we show that one-peak breathers of the discrete NLS with zero residual diffraction can be continued to periodic or quasiperiodic solutions of the discrete NLS with small residual diffraction and small amplitude diffraction management, provided that a nonresonance condition is satisfied. We also present numerical evidence that a similar continuation should be possible for certain single-, and multi-peak breathers of the discrete NLS with small diffraction.     

Discrete quantum breathers: what do we know about them?

The knowledge about discrete quantum breathers, accumulated during the last two decades, is reviewed. "Prehistory" of the problem is described and some important properties differentiating localized and extended vibrational modes are outlined. The state of art of our understanding of the principal features of the quantum discrete breathers is presented.     

Discrete soliton collisions in a waveguide array with saturable nonlinearity

We study the symmetric collisions of two mobile breathers/solitons in a model for coupled wave guides with a saturable nonlinearity. The saturability allows the existence of mobile breathers with high power. Three main regimes are observed: breather fusion, breather reflection and breather creation. The last regime seems to be exclusive of systems with a saturable nonlinearity, and has been previously observed in continuous models. In some cases a “symmetry breaking” can be observed, which we show to be an numerical artifact.     

Different Kinds of Discrete Breathers in Three Types of One-Dimensional Models

The dynamics of different kinds of discrete breathers in three types of one-dimensional monatomic chains with on-site and inter-site potentials are investigated. The existence and evolution of symmetric breather, antisymmetric breather, and multibreather in one-dimensional models are proved by using rotating wave approximation, local anharmonic approximation, and the numerical method. The linear stability of these breathers is investigated by using Lyapunov stable analysis. The localization and stability of breathers in three types of models correlate closely to the system nonlinear parameter β.     

On symmetric breather collisions in lattices with saturable nonlinearity

Symmetric collisions of two discrete breathers in the lattice with saturable nonlinearity are investigated. The strong correlation of the collision properties and the parameters of colliding breathers (power, velocity, and phase difference), lattice parameters and position of the collision point is found. This is related to the internal structure of the colliding breathers and energy exchange with the phonon background. The type of collision changes from elastic to the inelastic (the breathers merging, multi-bounce interactions, breather creation etc.) with the increasing of the colliding breather power. Collision of high power breathers always results in the breather fusion. The elastic and inelastic collisions are related to the periodic and quasi-periodic colliding breathers, respectively.     

Ab initio simulation of gap discrete breathers in strained graphene

The methods of the density functional theory were used for the first time for the simulation of discrete breathers in graphene. It is demonstrated that breathers can exist with frequencies lying in the gap of the phonon spectrum, induced by uniaxial tension of a monolayer graphene sheet in the “zigzag” direction (axis X), polarized in the “armchair” direction (axis Y). The found gap breathers are highly localized dynamic objects, the core of which is formed by two adjacent carbon atoms located on the Y axis. The atoms surrounding the core vibrate at much lower amplitudes along both the axes (X and Y). The dependence of the frequency of these breathers on amplitude is found, which shows a soft type of nonlinearity. No breathers of this type were detected in the gap induced by stretching along the Y axis. It is shown that the breather vibrations may be approximated by the Morse oscillators, the parameters of which are determined from ab initio calculations. The results are of fundamental importance, as molecular dynamics calculations based on empirical potentials cannot serve as a reliable proof of the existence of breathers in crystals.     

Comparison between Si/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and InP/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> based MOSFETs

The discrete breathers in graphane in thermodynamic equilibrium in the temperature range 50–600 K are studied by molecular dynamics simulation. A discrete breather is a hydrogen atom vibrating along the normal to a sheet of graphane at a high amplitude. As was found earlier, the lifetime of a discrete breather at zero temperature corresponds to several tens of thousands of vibrations. The effect of temperature on the decay time of discrete breathers and the probability of their detachment from a sheet of graphane are studied in this work. It is shown that closely spaced breathers can exchange energy with each other at zero temperature. The data obtained suggest that thermally activated discrete breathers can be involved in the dehydrogenation of graphane, which is important for hydrogen energetics.     

If "discrete breathers" is the answer,what is the question?

Intense work on discrete breathers or intrinsic localized modes in recent years has revealed a wealth of new properties of classical energy localization. Relaxation and mobility in particular may be two of the critical links with biomolecular processes. We review some of the basic discrete breather properties that we think are pertinent to biomolecules and make conjectures as to their possible biological utility.