Coupled oscillators can exhibit complex spatiotemporal dynamics. Here, we study the propagation of nonlinear waves into an unstable state in dissipative coupled oscillators. To this, we consider the dissipative Frenkel–Kontorova model, which accounts for a chain of coupled pendulums or Josephson junctions and coupling superconducting quantum interference devices. As a function of the dissipation parameter, the front that links the stable and unstable state is characterized by having a transition from monotonous to non-monotonous profile. In the conservative limit, these traveling nonlinear waves are unstable as a consequence of the energy released in the propagation. Traveling waves into unstable states are peculiar of dissipative coupling systems. When the coupling and the dissipation parameter are increased, the average front speed decreases. Based on an averaging method, we analytically determine the front speed. Numerical simulations show a quite fair agreement with the theoretical predictions. To show that our results are generic, we analyze a chain of coupled logistic equations. This model presents the predicted dynamics, opening the door to investigate a wider class of systems.

Faraday waves are a classic example of a system in which an extended pattern emerges under spatially uniform forcing. Motivated by systems in which uniform excitation is not plausible, we study both experimentally and theoretically the effect of heterogeneous forcing on Faraday waves. Our experiments show that vibrations restricted to finite regions lead to the formation of localized subharmonic wave patterns and change the onset of the instability. The prototype model used for the theoretical calculations is the parametrically driven and damped nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which is known to describe well Faraday-instability regimes. For an energy injection with a Gaussian spatial profile, we show that the evolution of the envelope of the wave pattern can be reduced to a Weber-equation eigenvalue problem. Our theoretical results provide very good predictions of our experimental observations provided that the decay length scale of the Gaussian profile is much larger than the pattern wavelength.

We investigate the bounce solutions in vacuum decay problems. We show that it is possible to have a stable false vacuum in a potential that is unbounded from below.

Coupled dissipative nonlinear oscillators exhibit complex spatiotemporal dynamics. Frenkel-Kontorova is a prototype model of coupled nonlinear oscillators, which exhibits coexistence between stable and unstable state. This model accounts for several physical systems such as the movement of atoms in condensed matter and magnetic chains, dynamics of coupled pendulums, and phase dynamics between superconductors. Here, we investigate kinks propagation into an unstable state in the Frenkel-Kontorova model with dissipation. We show that unlike point-like particles ?-kinks spread in a pulsating manner. Using numerical simulations, we have characterized the shape of the ?-kink oscillation. Different parts of the front propagate with the same mean speed, oscillating with the same frequency but different amplitude. The asymptotic behavior of this propagation allows us to determine the minimum mean speed of fronts analytically as a function of the coupling constant. A generalization of the Peierls-Nabarro potential is introduced to obtain an effective continuous description of the system. Numerical simulations show quite fair agreement between the Frenkel-Kontorova model and the proposed continuous description.

Nonlinear waves that collide with localized defects exhibit complex behavior. Apart from reflection, transmission, and annihilation of an incident wave, a local inhomogeneity can activate internal modes of solitons, producing many impressive phenomena. In this work, we investigate a two-dimensional sine-Gordon model perturbed by a family of localized forces. We observed the formation of bubble-like and drop-like structures due to local internal shape modes instabilities. We describe the formation of such structures on the basis of a one-dimensional theory of activation of internal modes of sG solitons. An interpretation of the observed phenomena, in the context of phase transitions theory, is given. Implications on physical and biological systems are discussed.

We show that a vector matter-wave soliton in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) loaded into an optical lattice can escape from a trap formed by a parabolic potential, resembling a Hawking emission. The particle-antiparticle pair is emulated by a low-amplitude bright-bright soliton in a two-component BEC with effective masses of opposite signs. It is shown that the parabolic potential leads to a spatial separation of BEC components. One component with chemical potential in a semi-infinite gap exerts periodical oscillations, while the other BEC component, with negative effective mass, escapes from the trap. The mechanism of atom transfer from one BEC component to another by spatially periodic linear coupling term is also discussed.

Non-equilibrium dissipative systems usually exhibit multistability, leading to the presence of propagative domain between steady states. We investigate the front propagation into an unstable state in discrete media. Based on a paradigmatic model of coupled chain of oscillators and populations dynamics, we calculate analytically the average speed of these fronts and characterize numerically the oscillatory front propagation. We reveal that different parts of the front oscillate with the same frequency but with different amplitude. To describe this latter phenomenon we generalize the notion of the Peierls-Nabarro potential, achieving an effective continuous description of the discreteness effect.

Coupled oscillators can exhibit complex self-organization behavior such as phase turbulence, spatiotemporal intermittency, and chimera states. The latter corresponds to a coexistence of coherent and incoherent states apparently promoted by nonlocal or global coupling. Here we investigate the existence, stability properties, and bifurcation diagram of chimera-type states in a system with local coupling without different time scales. Based on a model of a chain of nonlinear oscillators coupled to adjacent neighbors, we identify the required attributes to observe these states: local coupling and bistability between a stationary and an oscillatory state close to a homoclinic bifurcation. The local coupling prevents the incoherent state from invading the coherent one, allowing concurrently the existence of a family of chimera states, which are organized by a homoclinic snaking bifurcation diagram.

We show that the key ingredients for creating recurrent traveling spatial phase defects in drifting patterns are a noise-sustained structure regime together with the vicinity of a phase transition, that is, a spatial region where the control parameter lies close to the threshold for pattern formation. They both generate specific favorable initial conditions for local spatial gradients, phase, and/or amplitude. Predictions from the stochastic convective Ginzburg-Landau equation with real coefficients agree quite well with experiments carried out on a Kerr medium submitted to shifted optical feedback that evidence noise-induced traveling phase slips and vortex phase-singularities.

We demonstrate, that Bose-Einstein condensate can escape from the trap, formed of combined linear periodic (optical lattice) and parabolic potentials, and the escaping mechanism is similar to Hawking radiation from black hole. The low-amplitude bright-bright soliton in two-component Bose-Einstein condensate (where chemical potentials of the BEC first and second components are located nearby the opposite edges of the first band of the optical lattice spectrum) serves as an analogue of particle-antiparticle pair in Hawking radiation. It is shown that parabolic potential, being applied to such two-component BEC, leads to spatial separation of its components: BEC component with chemical potential located in semi-infinite gap exerts the periodical oscillations, while the BEC component, whose chemical potential is in the first finite gap, escapes from the trap (due to negative effective mass of gap soliton). We also propose a method for the creation of such bright-bright soliton — transferring of atoms from one BEC component to another by spatially periodic linear coupling term.

One-dimensional patterns subjected to counter-propagative flows or speed jumps exhibit a rich and complex spatiotemporal dynamics, which is characterized by the perpetual emergence of spatiotemporal dislocation chains. Using a universal amplitude equation of drifting patterns, we show that this behavior is a result of a combination of a phase instability and an advection process caused by an inhomogeneous drift force. The emergence of spatiotemporal dislocation chains is verified in numerical simulations on an optical feedback system with a non-uniform intensity pump. Experimentally this phenomenon is also observed in a tilted quasi-one-dimensional fluidized shallow granular bed mechanically driven by a harmonic vertical vibration.

We have identified a physical mechanism that rules the confinement of nonpropagating hydrodynamic solitons. We show that thin boundary layers arising on walls are responsible for a jump in the local damping. The outcome is a weak dissipation-driven repulsion that determines decisively the solitons’ long-time behavior. Numerical simulations of our model are consistent with experiments. Our results uncover how confinement can generate a localized distribution of dissipation in out-of-equilibrium systems. Moreover, they show the preponderance of such a subtle effect in the behavior of localized structures. The reported results should explain the dynamic behavior of other confined dissipative systems.

We report on the experimental observation of spatially modulated kinks in a shallow one-dimensional fluidized granular layer subjected to a periodic air flow. We show the appearance of these solutions as the layer undergoes a parametric instability. Due to the inherent fluctuations of the granular layer, the kink profile exhibits an effective wavelength, a precursor, which modulates spatially the homogeneous states and drastically modifies the kink dynamics. We characterize the average and fluctuating properties of this solution. Finally, we show that the temporal evolution of these kinks is dominated by a hopping dynamics, related directly to the underlying spatial structure.

Parametrically driven extended systems exhibit dissipative localized states. Analytical solutions of these states are characterized by a uniform phase and a bell-shaped modulus. Recently, a type of dissipative localized state with a nonuniform phase structure has been reported: the phase shielding solitons. Using the parametrically driven and damped nonlinear Schrödinger equation, we investigate the main properties of this kind of solution in one and two dimensions and develop an analytical description for its structure and dynamics. Numerical simulations are consistent with our analytical results, showing good agreement. A numerical exploration conducted in an anisotropic ferromagnetic system in one and two dimensions indicates the presence of phase shielding solitons. The structure of these dissipative solitons is well described also by our analytical results. The presence of corrective higher-order terms is relevant in the description of the observed phase dynamical behavior.

Under drift forces, a monostable pattern propagates. However, examples of nonpropagative dynamics have been observed. We show that the origin of this pinning effect comes from the coupling between the slow scale of the envelope to the fast scale of the modulation of the underlying pattern. We evidence that this effect stems from spatial inhomogeneities in the system. Experiments and numerics on drifting pattern-forming systems subjected to inhomogeneous spatial pumping or boundary conditions confirm this origin of pinning dynamics.

The existence of two-kink soliton solutions in polynomial potentials was first reported by Bazeia et al. in a special type of scalar field systems [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 241601 (2003)]. A general feature of these potentials is that they possess two minima and a local metastable minimum between them. In the present work we investigate the appearance of this special kind of soliton in the sine-Gordon model under the perturbation of a space-dependent force. We show that a pair of solitons is emitted during the process of kink breakup by internal mode instabilities. A possible explanation of these phenomena is an interplay between the solitons repelling interaction and the external force, resulting in a separation or a packing of several kinks.

A novel type of parametrically excited dissipative solitons is unveiled. It differs from the well-known solitons with constant phase by an intrinsically dynamical evolving shell-type phase front. Analytical and numerical characterizations are proposed, displaying quite a good agreement. In one spatial dimension, the system shows three types of stationary solitons with shell-like structure whereas in two spatial dimensions it displays only one, characterized by a π-phase jump far from the soliton position.

We investigate the propagation of kinks in inhomogeneous media. We show that the extended character of the kink, the internal mode instabilities and the phenomenon of disappearance of the translational mode can affect the kink motion in the presence of space-dependent external perturbations. We apply the results to the analysis of kink ratchets and the propagation of kinks driven by wave fields.

A universal differential equation is a nontrivial differential equation the solutions of which approximate to arbitrary accuracy any continuous function on any interval of the real line. On the other hand, there has been much interest in exactly solvable chaotic maps. An important problem is to generalize these results to continuous systems. Theoretical analysis would allow us to prove theorems about these systems and predict new phenomena. In the present paper we discuss the concept of universal functions and their relevance to the theory of universal differential equations. We present a connection between universal functions and solutions to chaotic systems. We will show the statistical independence between $X(t)$ and $X(t + \tau)$ (when $\tau$ is not equal to zero) and $X(t)$ is a solution to some chaotic systems. We will construct universal functions that behave as delta-correlated noise. We will construct universal dynamical systems with truly noisy solutions. We will discuss physically realizable dynamical systems with universal-like properties.

We investigate the connections between functions of type x(n) = p(theta Tz(n)) and nonlinear maps coupled to non-invertible transformations. These systems can produce unpredictable dynamics. We study the higher-order correlations in the generated sequences. We show that (theoretically) it is possible to construct systems that can generate sequences that constitute a set of statistically independent random variables. We apply the results in the improvement of a two-dimensional coupled map system that has been used in practical applications as e.g. cryptosystems and data compression.

The escape of solitons over a potential barrier is analysed within the framework of a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation. It is shown that the creation of a kink-antikink pair near the barrier through an internal mode instability can be followed by escape of the kink in a process analogous to Hawking radiation. These results have important implications in a wider context, including stochastic resonance and ratchet systems, which are also discussed.