No Arabic abstract
Complementary to existing applications of Lagrangian descriptors as an exploratory method, we use Lagrangian descriptors to find invariant manifolds in a system where some invariant structures have already been identified. In this case we use the parametrisation of a periodic orbit to construct a Lagrangian descriptor that will be locally minimised on its invariant manifolds. The procedure is applicable (but not limited) to systems with highly unstable periodic orbits, such as the isokinetic Chesnavich CH4+ model subject to a Hamiltonian isokinetic theromostat. Aside from its low computational requirements, the method enables us to study the invariant structures responsible for roaming in the isokinetic Chesnavich CH4+ model.
Chesnavichs model Hamiltonian for the reaction CH$_4^+ rightarrow$ CH$_3^+$ is known to exhibit a range of interesting dynamical phenomena including roaming. The model system consists of two parts: a rigid, symmetric top representing the CH$_3^+$ ion and a free H atom. We study roaming in this model with focus on the evolution of geometrical features of the invariant manifolds in phase space that govern roaming under variations of the mass of the free atom m and a parameter a that couples radial and angular motion. In addition, we establish an upper bound on the prominence of roaming in Chesnavichs model. The bound highlights the intricacy of roaming as a type of dynamics on the verge between isomerisation and nonreactivity as it relies on generous access to the potential wells to allow reactions as well as a prominent area of high potential that aids sufficient transfer of energy between the degrees of freedom to prevent isomerisation.
Phase space structures such as dividing surfaces, normally hyperbolic invariant manifolds, their stable and unstable manifolds have been an integral part of computing quantitative results such as transition fraction, stability erosion in multi-stable mechanical systems, and reaction rates in chemical reaction dynamics. Thus, methods that can reveal their geometry in high dimensional phase space (4 or more dimensions) need to be benchmarked by comparing with known results. In this study, we assess the capability of one such method called Lagrangian descriptor for revealing the types of high dimensional phase space structures associated with index-1 saddle in Hamiltonian systems. The Lagrangian descriptor based approach is applied to two and three degree-of-freedom quadratic Hamiltonian systems where the high dimensional phase space structures are known, that is as closed-form analytical expressions. This leads to a direct comparison of features in the Lagrangian descriptor plots and the phase space structures intersection with an isoenergetic two-dimensional surface and hence provides a validation of the approach.
This Response is concerned with the recent Comment of Ruiz-Herrera, Limitations of the Method of Lagrangian Descriptors [arXiv:1510.04838], criticising the method of Lagrangian Descriptors. In spite of the significant body of literature asserting the contrary, Ruiz-Herrera claims that the method fails to reveal the presence of stable and unstable manifolds of hyperbolic trajectories in incompressible systems and in almost all linear systems. He supports this claim by considering the method of Lagrangian descriptors applied to three specific examples. However in this response we show that Ruiz-Herrera does not understand the proper application and interpretation of the method and, when correctly applied, the method beautifully and unambiguously detects the stable and unstable manifolds of the hyperbolic trajectories in his examples.
Recent studies have found an unusual way of dissociation in formaldehyde. It can be characterized by a hydrogen atom that separates from the molecule, but instead of dissociating immediately it roams around the molecule for a considerable amount of time and extracts another hydrogen atom from the molecule prior to dissociation. This phenomenon has been coined roaming and has since been reported in the dissociation of a number of other molecules. In this paper we investigate roaming in Chesnavichs CH$_4^+$ model. During dissociation the free hydrogen must pass through three phase space bottleneck for the classical motion, that can be shown to exist due to unstable periodic orbits. None of these orbits is associated with saddle points of the potential energy surface and hence related to transition states in the usual sense. We explain how the intricate phase space geometry influences the shape and intersections of invariant manifolds that form separatrices, and establish the impact of these phase space structures on residence times and rotation numbers. Ultimately we use this knowledge to attribute the roaming phenomenon to particular heteroclinic intersections.
We propose to compute approximations to general invariant sets in dynamical systems by minimizing the distance between an appropriately selected finite set of points and its image under the dynamics. We demonstrate, through computational experiments that this approach can successfully converge to approximations of (maximal) invariant sets of arbitrary topology, dimension and stability as, e.g., saddle type invariant sets with complicated dynamics. We further propose to extend this approach by adding a Lennard-Jones type potential term to the objective function which yields more evenly distributed approximating finite point sets and perform corresponding numerical experiments.