No Arabic abstract
I consider the problem of self-oscillatory systems undergoing a homogeneous Hopf bifurcation when they are submitted to an external forcing that is periodic in time, at a frequency close to the systems natural frequency (1:1 resonance), and whose amplitude is slowly modulated in space. Starting from a general, unspecified model and making use of standard multiple scales analysis, I show that the close-to-threshold dynamics of such systems is universally governed by a generalized, complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation. The nature of the generalization depends on the strength and of other features of forcing: (i) For generic, sufficiently weak forcings the CGL equation contains an extra, inhomogeneous term proportional to the complex amplitude of forcing, as in the usual 1:1 resonance with spatially uniform forcing; (ii) For stronger perturbations, whose amplitude sign alternates across the system, the CGL equation contains a term proportional to the complex conjugate of the oscillations envelope, like in the classical 2:1 resonance, responsible for the emergence of phase bistability and of phase bistable patterns in the system. Finally I show that case (ii) is retrieved from case (i) in the appropriate limit so that the latter can be regarded as the generic model for the close-to-threshold dynamics of the type of systems considered here. The kind of forcing studied in this work thus represents an alternative to the classical parametric forcing at twice the natural frequency of oscillations and opens the way to new forms of pattern formation control in self-oscillatory systems, what is especially relevant in the case of systems that are quite insensitive to parametric forcing, such as lasers and other nonlinear optical cavities.
In superfluid $^3$He-B confined in a slab geometry, domain walls between regions of different order parameter orientation are predicted to be energetically stable. Formation of the spatially-modulated superfluid stripe phase has been proposed. We confined $^3$He in a 1.1 $mu$m high microfluidic cavity and cooled it into the B phase at low pressure, where the stripe phase is predicted. We measured the surface-induced order parameter distortion with NMR, sensitive to the formation of domains. The results rule out the stripe phase, but are consistent with 2D modulated superfluid order.
We investigate wave propagation in rotationally symmetric tubes with a periodic spatial modulation of cross section. Using an asymptotic perturbation analysis, the governing quasi two-dimensional reaction-diffusion equation can be reduced into a one-dimensional reaction-diffusion-advection equation. Assuming a weak perturbation by the advection term and using projection method, in a second step, an equation of motion for traveling waves within such tubes can be derived. Both methods predict properly the nonlinear dependence of the propagation velocity on the ratio of the modulation period of the geometry to the intrinsic width of the front, or pulse. As a main feature, we can observe finite intervals of propagation failure of waves induced by the tubes modulation. In addition, using the Fick-Jacobs approach for the highly diffusive limit we show that wave velocities within tubes are governed by an effective diffusion coefficient. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of a single bottleneck on the period of pulse trains within tubes. We observe period changes by integer fractions dependent on the bottleneck width and the period of the entering pulse train.
We analyze the existence and stability of two kinds of self-trapped spatially localized gap modes, gap solitons and truncated nonlinear Bloch waves, in one-and two-dimensional optical or matter-wave media with self-focusing nonlinearity, supported by a combination of linear and nonlinear periodic lattice potentials. The former is found to be stable once placed inside a single well of the nonlinear lattice, it is unstable otherwise. Contrary to the case with constant self-focusing nonlinearity, where the latter solution is always unstable, here, we demonstrate that it nevertheless can be stabilized by the nonlinear lattice since the model under consideration combines the unique properties of both the linear and nonlinear lattices. The practical possibilities for experimental realization of the predicted solutions are also discussed.
We present a string theory construction of a gravity dual of a spatially modulated phase. In our earlier work, we showed that the Chern-Simons term in the 5-dimensional Maxwell theory destabilizes the Reissner-Nordstrom black holes in anti-de Sitter space if the Chern-Simons coupling is sufficiently high. In this paper, we show that a similar instability is realized on the worldvolume of 8-branes in the Sakai-Sugimoto model in the quark-gluon plasma phase. We also construct and analyze a non-linear solution describing the end-point of the transition. Our result suggests a new spatially modulated phase in quark-gluon plasma when the baryon density is above 0.8 N_f fm^{-3} at temperature 150 MeV.
Certain two-component reaction-diffusion systems on a finite interval are known to possess mesa (box-like) steadystate patterns in the singularly perturbed limit of small diffusivity for one of the two solution components. As the diffusivity D of the second component is decreased below some critical value Dc, with Dc = O(1), the existence of a steady-state mesa pattern is lost, triggering the onset of a mesa self-replication event that ultimately leads to the creation of additional mesas. The initiation of this phenomena is studied in detail for a particular scaling limit of the Brusselator model. Near the existence threshold Dc of a single steady-state mesa, it is shown that an internal layer forms in the center of the mesa. The structure of the solution within this internal layer is shown to be governed by a certain core problem, comprised of a single non-autonomous second-order ODE. By analyzing this core problem using rigorous and formal asymptotic methods, and by using the Singular Limit Eigenvalue Problem (SLEP) method to asymptotically calculate small eigenvalues, an analytical verification of the conditions of Nishiura and Ueyema [Physica D, 130, No. 1, (1999), pp. 73-104], believed to be responsible for self-replication, is given. These conditions include: (1) The existence of a saddle-node threshold at which the steady-state mesa pattern disappears; (2) the dimple-shaped eigenfunction at the threshold, believed to be responsible for the initiation of the replication process; and (3) the stability of the mesa pattern above the existence threshold. Finally, we show that the core problem is universal in the sense that it pertains to a class of reaction-diffusion systems, including the Gierer-Meinhardt model with saturation, where mesa self-replication also occurs.