Effect of Nonlinearity on Scattering Dynamics of Solitary Waves

We discuss the effect of nonlinearity on the scattering dynamics of solitary waves. The pure nth power model with the interaction potential V （Х） = Х^n/n is present, which is a paradigm model in the study of solitary waves. The dependence of the scattering property on nonlinearity is closely related to the topological structures of the solitary waves. Moreover, for one of the four collision types, the rates of energy loss increase with the strength of nonlinearity and would reach 1 at n ≥ 10, which means that the two solitary waves would become of fragments completely after the collision.     

Different Types of Solitary Wave Scattering in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam Model

We show that the scattering between two solitary waves in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model with interaction potential V (x) = αx^2/2 x^4/4 can be classified into four types according to the configurations of the solitary waves. For three of the four types, the large solitary wave can lose energy and the small one can gain in average by collision.For the other one type in a special parameter region we encounter an anomalous scattering, i.e. the large solitary wave gains energy and the small one loses energy. Numerical investigations are performed for the anharmonic limit case of α = 0 and the general case of α ≠ 0 and comparisons between them are made.