Bifurcation structures and dominant modes near relative equilibria in the one-dimensional discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation

We investigate the bifurcation structure of a family of relative equilibria of a ring of seven oscillators described by the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation (DNLSE) when the period of these orbits and a suitable defect act as bifurcation parameters. We find a reduced Hamiltonian that gives substantial insight into the dynamics of this system. The convexity of this Hamiltonian at given nonresonant equilibria supports the stability of nearby quasiperiodic solutions. We show that the local loss of convexity in the reduced Hamiltonian is determined by the Hessian of its integrable part in the family of relative equilibria under study. Stable quasiperiodic solutions are studied by considering the power spectral densities of a set of suitable fast and slow actions, whose origin is suggested by the averaging principle. We also show that the return times form an optimal embedding to characterize the system dynamics. We show that the power spectral density of a suitable interference signal, arising from a ring of Bose-Einstein condensates and described by the DNLSE, has a single prominent peak at the breather-like relative equilibria.