PHYSICAL REVIEW E VOLUME 62, NUMBER 4 OCTOBER 2000

Oscillations of a highly discrete breather with a critical regime

E. Coquet, M. Remoissenet, and P. Tchofo Dinda
Laboratoire de Physique de l’Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS No. 5027, Avenue A. Savary,
Boı̂te Postale 47 870, 21078 Dijon Cédex, France
共Received 24 January 2000; revised manuscript received 30 June 2000兲
We analyze carefully the essential features of the dynamics of a stationary discrete breather in the ultimate
degree of energy localization in a nonlinear Klein-Gordon lattice with an on-site double-well potential. We
demonstrate the existence of three different regimes of oscillatory motion in the breather dynamics, which are
closely related to the motion of the central particle in an effective potential having two nondegenerate wells. In
given parameter regions, we observe an untrapped regime, in which the central particle executes large-
amplitude oscillations from one to the other side of the potential barrier. In other parameter regions, we find the
trapped regime, in which the central particle oscillates in one of the two wells of the effective potential.
Between these two regimes we find a critical regime in which the central particle undergoes several temporary
trappings within an untrapped regime. Importantly, our study reveals that in the presence of purely anharmonic
coupling forces, the breather compactifies, i.e., the energy becomes abruptly localized within the breather.

PACS number共s兲: 41.20.Jb, 05.50.⫹q

I. INTRODUCTION pling forces between adjacent particles. The concept of

In recent years there has been considerable effort made in
understanding nonlinear energy-localization phenomena 关1兴
in homogeneous discrete lattices. The possibility of existence
of localized long-lived molecular vibrational states was
pointed out by Ovchinnikov 关2兴 many decades ago. Then, the
existence of nonlinear localized modes in a lattice with on-
site potential and linear interparticle coupling was explored
by Kosevich and Kovalev 关3兴. Dolgov 关4兴 proposed a model
for self-localization of vibrations in a one-dimensional lattice
with nonlinear interparticle coupling without on-site poten-
tial. Sievers and Takeno 关5兴 reported that large amplitude
vibrations in perfectly periodic one-dimensional 共1D兲 lattices
can localize because of the nonlinearity and discreteness ef-
fects. Then they clearly suggested that intrinsic localized
modes or discrete breathers should be quite general and ro-
bust solutions in the sense that they can exist in many models
关5兴. This result was subsequently confirmed by Page 关6兴. In
contrast to the case of purely harmonic lattices, where spa-
tially localized modes can occur only when defects or disor-
der are present so that the translational invariance of the
underlying lattice is broken, discrete breathers may be cre-
ated anywhere in a perfect homogeneous nonlinear lattice.
Since the pioneering studies mentioned above 关1–6兴, discrete
breathers have been the subject of an intense research 共for
recent reviews see 关7兴 and 关8兴兲, because of their relevance in
various fields such as condensed matter physics, optics, and
biology. The existence of discrete breathers as exact time
periodic spatially localized solutions in a large class of non-
linear lattices was demonstrated analytically by McKay and
Aubry 关9兴. But so far, no analytical derivation of breather
solutions in a highly discrete ⌽-four lattice has been carried
out because of a host of mathematical problems that arise in
the specific situation of abrupt localization of energy.
On the other hand, recent studies 关10,11兴 demonstrate that
a breathing mode can compactify in a nonlinear Klein-
Gordon lattice, with a soft on-site substrate potential 共single-
well potential兲, in the presence of purely anharmonic cou-
compactification or strict localization of solitary waves was
introduced for the first time by Rosenau and Hyman 关12兴,
who investigated a special type of Korteweg–de Vries equa-
tion and discovered that solitary waves can compactify in the
presence of a nonlinear dispersion. Such solitary waves,
which are characterized by a compact support, i.e., the ab-
sence of infinite wings, have been called compactons. Then a
fundamental question arises as to whether a breather com-
pacton can exist in nonlinear Klein-Gordon lattices having
an on-site double-well substrate potential. The answer to this
question is given in the present paper.
In this paper, we carry out a theoretical analysis showing
the existence of a stationary breather in the ultimate degree
of energy localization in a nonlinear Klein-Gordon discrete
lattice, with a ⌽-four on-site substrate potential and very
weak coupling forces between adjacent particles. This
breather consists of a central particle that executes strongly
anharmonic dynamics while all the other particles execute
very small-amplitude oscillations about their equilibrium po-
sitions. Such a situation, which presents similarities with the
localized rotating modes 关13兴, may occur in many discrete
real systems where some thermally activated atoms or ions,
though coupled to their neighbors, may jump from one site to
another one. In the present paper, we provide a general pic-
ture describing the oscillatory dynamics of the highly dis-
crete breather, and we show that the on-site double-well po-
tential leads to a much richer spectrum of behavior than there
is for the single-well substrate potentials considered in pre-
vious studies 关10,14兴. Most of the richness comes from the
existence of several regimes of breather motion, which are
closely related to the motion of the central particle of the
breather in a double-well effective potential. Many physical
processes involving this dynamics may include proton trans-
port in hydrogen-bonded chains 关15兴, planar rotations of base
pairs in DNA macromolecules 关16兴, and polymer chains
twisting 关17兴.
The paper is organized as follows. In Sec. II we present
the model. In Sec. III, we analyze the breather motion in the

1063-651X/2000/62共4兲/5767共10兲/$15.00 PRE 62 5767 ©2000 The American Physical Society

5768 E. COQUET, M. REMOISSENET, AND P. TCHOFO DINDA PRE 62

untrapped regime, and in Sec. IV we consider the trapped

regime. Section V is devoted to the analysis of the critical
regime, and in Sec. VI we summarize and give concluding
remarks.

II. MODEL
A. Equations of motion
The system under consideration is a nonlinear Kein-
Gordon infinite lattice, in which each particle interacts with
its nearest neighbors via coupling forces that are either
purely harmonic or anharmonic. Each particle oscillates in a
direction perpendicular to the chain axis, in a ⌽-four on-site
potential that represents the combined influence of the sur-
rounding lattice atoms and external effects. The lattice
Hamiltonian is

H⫽ 兺n 冋冉 冊
1 dx n
2 dt
2
⫹
cl
共x ⫺x 兲 2
2 n⫹1 n FIG. 1. Schematic representation of the initial configuration of

册
c nl V0
⫹ 共 x n⫹1 ⫺x n 兲 4 ⫹ 共 1⫺x n 2 兲 2 . 共1兲
4 4
Here, x n is the on-site degree of freedom, c l , c nl , and V 0
are constants that control the strength of linear and nonlinear
couplings, and the on-site potential barrier height, respec-
tively. The corresponding one-dimensional equations of mo-
tion can be written in the following form:
d 2x n
⫽V 0 关 x n 共 1⫺x 2n 兲 ⫹C l 共 x n⫺1 ⫹x n⫹1 ⫺2x n 兲
dt 2
⫹C nl 关共 x n⫺1 ⫺x n 兲 3 ⫹ 共 x n⫹1 ⫺x n 兲 3 兴兴 , 共2兲
where C l ⬅c l /V 0 and C nl ⬅c nl /V 0 are the normalized cou-
pling constants.
In the present paper, we examine the ultimate degree of
energy localization in this nonlinear Klein-Gordon lattice, in
the form of a breather. To this end, we consider the limit of
weak coupling between adjacent lattice sites i.e., a dynami-
cal situation in which only a central particle 共CP兲, say n
⫽s, executes a large-amplitude motion from one to the other
side of the potential barrier. All the other particles execute
relatively small-amplitude oscillations near the bottom of the
substrate wells lying in the same side of the potential barrier.
Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the configura-
tion of the system at the beginning of this dynamical situa-
tion. The CP is shifted to an unstable position in one side of
the substrate potential, labeled ‘‘B’’ in Fig. 1. As a result of
the coupling forces, the particles neighboring the CP undergo
small shifts, in the same direction as the CP, up to unstable
equilibrium positions located near the bottom of the potential
wells labeled ‘‘A’’ in Fig. 1. An important point to be em-
phasized here is that the large initial displacement given to
the CP, in the direction perpendicular to the chain axis, gen-
erates thereby a symmetry plane 共perpendicular to the chain
axis兲, at this lattice site 共i.e., s兲. Consequently, in the limit of
the system in presence of a weak interparticle coupling. The curves
represent the on-site substrate potential. The circles represent the
particles. The labels ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’ identify the two wells of the
potential. The central particle, which lies at the site index ‘‘s,’’
begins its motion in the well B, whereas all the other particles are in
the wells A. The particle position x is given in arbitrary units.
d 2x s
⫽V 0 兵 x s 共 1⫺x s2 兲 ⫹2 关 C l 共 x s⫾1 ⫺x s 兲 ⫹C nl 共 x s⫾1 ⫺x s 兲 3 兴 其 .
dt 2
共3兲
On the other hand, the positions of all the particles, except
the CP, can be rewritten as: x s⫾i ⫽⫺1⫹⌬x s⫾i , where the
deviation with respect to the equilibrium position is
兩 ⌬x s⫾i 兩 Ⰶ1. Then, for C l Ⰶ1 and C nl Ⰶ1, the equations of
motion at sites s, s⫾1, and s⫾2 reduce, in first-order ap-
proximation, to
d 2x s
⬇V 0 兵 x s 共 1⫺x s2 兲 ⫺2 关 C l 共 1⫹x s 兲 ⫹C nl 共 1⫹x s 兲 3 兴 其
dt 2
dV e 共 x s 兲
⫽⫺ , 共4兲
dx s
d 2 ⌬x s⫾1
⫹2V 0 ⌬x s⫾1 ⬇V 0 关 C l 共 1⫹x s 兲 ⫹C nl 共 1⫹x s 兲 3 兴 ,
dt 2
共5兲
d 2 ⌬x s⫾2
⫹2V 0 ⌬x s⫾2 ⬇0. 共6兲
dt 2
As Eq. 共6兲 shows, in the weak coupling limit, the motion of
the s⫾2 particles corresponds essentially to an harmonic
oscillation with frequency ␻ 0 ⫽(2V 0 ) 1/2 and period T 0
⫽2 ␲ / ␻ 0 .
In Eq. 共4兲, V e represents the effective potential for the CP,
whose expression is given by

冋 册
no perturbations, the amplitude of displacement of particles
s⫹i and s⫺i are strictly identical. Thus, at site n⫽s, one 1 C nl
V e 共 x 兲 ⫽V 0 共 1⫺x 2 兲 2 ⫹C l 共 1⫹x 兲 2 ⫹ 共 1⫹x 兲 4 , 共7兲
can replace Eq. 共2兲 by 4 2
PRE 62 OSCILLATIONS OF A HIGHLY DISCRETE BREATHER . . . 5769

TABLE I. Parameters of the effective potential of the CP V e (x),

for zero, linear and nonlinear coupling cases. The positions of the
extrema of V e (x) are: x em1 , x em2 , and x em3 . V bh is the barrier
height. x ec
0 is the critical initial position of the CP.

No Linear Nonlinear
Parameters coupling coupling Coupling

x em1 ⫺1 ⫺1 ⫺1
x em2 0 2C l 2C nl
x em3 1 1⫺2C l 1⫺8C nl
V bh V0 V0 V0
共1⫺12C l 兲 共 1⫺30C nl 兲
4 4 4
x ec
0 & & 关 1⫺C l (1⫹&) 兴 & 关 1⫺C nl (4⫹3&) 兴

of x 0 , such as the occurrence of several temporary trappings

within an untrapped regime.
We examine successively these three different regimes.

FIG. 2. Schematic representation of the effective potentials for III. UNTRAPPED REGIME
the central particle V e 共solid curve兲, and for the breather V eff
共dashed curve兲. The dotted curve represent the substrate potential. In this regime, the CP has a sufficient energy to overcome
The parameters x em1 , x em2 , and x em3 , indicate the extrema of the the potential barrier. Thus, Eq. 共4兲 can be integrated via a
effective potential of the central particle. x ec ec
1 and x 0 indicate the
quadrature to give
positions for which V e (x)⫽V e (x em2 ).
共 p ␣ ⫹ ␤ 兲 ⫹ 共 ␤ ⫺ p ␣ 兲 cn共 w e t,k 2e 兲
x 共 w e t,k 2e 兲 ⫽x 0 , 共8兲
with x⬅x s . Thus, Eqs. 共4兲–共6兲 define the motion of the par- 共 ␣ ⫹ ␤ 兲 ⫹ 共 ␤ ⫺ ␣ 兲 cn共 w e t,k 2e 兲
ticles that are involved in the breather dynamics in the ulti-
mate degree of energy localization in the system. The effec- where the parameters w e , k 2e , p, ␣, and ␤, are given in Table
tive potential V e is schematically represented by the solid II for zero, linear and nonlinear coupling forces, respectively.
curve in Fig. 2, where the positions of the extrema of V e : The function cn in Eq. 共8兲 is a Jacobi elliptic function 关18兴
x em1 , x em2 , and x em3 , can be easily calculated by solving with modulus k 2e ⬍1. Solution 共8兲 corresponds to oscillations
dV e (x)/dx⫽0 共the results are given in Table I兲. One of the of period T e and frequency ⍀:
effects of the coupling forces is to lower the barrier height of
the potential V bh ⫽V e (x em2 )⫺V e (x em3 ) that the CP must
overcome to move from the well B to the well A. In fact, the
T e⫽
4
we
K 共 k 2e 兲 with K 共 k 2e 兲 ⫽ 冕0
共 ␲ /2兲 du
冑1⫺k 2e sin2u
and
ability of the CP to execute a large-amplitude motion de-
pends critically on its initial position x 0 . There exists a criti- 2␲
cal distance x ec0 共from the origin兲 from which the CP 共when ⍀⫽ . 共9兲
released with zero initial velocity兲 can execute a large- Te
amplitude motion from one to the other side of the potential For very weak coupling: C l Ⰶ1 and C nl Ⰶ1 共including the
barrier. Note that in the absence of coupling forces, the ef- case when C l ⫽C nl ⫽0兲, the general solution 共8兲 can be ap-
fective potential of the CP coincides with the on-site sub- proximated 关18兴 by
strate potential represented by the dotted curve in Fig. 2, and
there, the critical distance is x c0 ⫽&⬎x ec 0 . Thus, an out-
⬁
standing effect of the coupling forces is the reduction of the x 共 t 兲 ⬇x 0 cn共 w e t,k e 兲 ⬇x 0 兺 P 2n⫹1 cos共 2n⫹1 兲 ⍀t,
0 共see also Table I兲. Throughout
critical distance from x c0 to x ec n⫽0
共10兲
the present paper, we choose the initial position of the CP to
be precisely in the parameter region x 0 ⭐x c0 , where the pres- where

冉 冊
ence of coupling forces is required for the CP to execute an
untrapped motion. In this region, the breather motion can be ␲ ⫺1
K 共 1⫺k 2e 兲
broadly divided into three main regimes of oscillatory mo- P 2n⫹1 ⫽ cosh ␲ 共 n⫹ 1
兲 . 共11兲
k e K 共 k 2e 兲 2
K 共 k 2e 兲
tion depending on the initial position of the CP.
共i兲 If x 0 ⬎x ec
0 , the CP will execute an untrapped motion Solution 共10兲 shows that the central-particle motion,
with large-amplitude oscillations. which is closely related to the breather motion, is made up of
共ii兲 When x 0 ⬍x ec0 , we find a trapped regime in which the the fundamental frequency ⍀ and several odd harmonics.
potential energy of the CP is not sufficient for this particle to This behavior is formally equivalent to large-amplitude os-
overcome the potential barrier. cillations of a particle in a double-well potential 关19,20兴. The
共iii兲 When x 0 ⬇x ec 0 , we find a critical regime in which substitution of the expressions for w e and k e 共see Table II兲 in
different situations can occur depending on the precise value Eq. 共9兲 gives the period T e in terms of the initial condition x 0
5770 E. COQUET, M. REMOISSENET, AND P. TCHOFO DINDA PRE 62

TABLE II. Characteristic parameters w e , k 2e , p, ␣ 2 , and ␤ 2 , for

the CP motion in the untrapped regime, for zero (C l ,C nl )⫽(0,0),
linear (C l ,0) and nonlinear (0,C nl ) coupling.

(C l ,C nl ) w e ( C l ,C nl )

共0,0兲 V 0 (x 20 ⫺1)
(C l ,0)
we共0,0兲 1⫹冋 Cl
共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 2
共 x 20 ⫹2x 0 ⫺1 兲 册
(0,C nl )
冉
we共0,0兲 1⫹
C nl
共 x 0 ⫺1 兲 2
2 [x 40 ⫹2 共 x 30 ⫹x 20 ⫹x 0 兲 ⫺3] 冊
(C l ,C nl ) k e2( C l ,C nl )

共0,0兲 x20
2共x20⫺1兲
(C l ,0)
冋
ke2共0,0兲 1⫺
2C l
x 0 共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 2
共 x 30 ⫺x 0 ⫹2 兲 册
(0,C nl )
冋
ke2共0,0兲 1⫺
4C nl
x 0 共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 2
共 2x 30 ⫹x 20 ⫺2x 0 ⫹1 兲 册
(C l ,C nl ) p ( C l ,C nl )
FIG. 3. Plot showing the normalized period of oscillations
共0,0兲 ⫺1 T e /T 0 in the effective potential V e , as a function of the initial
(C l ,0)
⫺ 1⫹ 冉 4Cl
x0共x20⫺1兲 冊 position of the central particle x 0 , for C l ⫽6.5⫻10⫺4 and C nl ⫽0
共solid curves兲, T 0 being the period of small-amplitude oscillations
in the bottom of one the two degenerate wells of the substrate
(0,C nl )
冉
⫺ 1⫹
4Cnl共1⫹x20兲
x0共x20⫺1兲
冊 potential. The dotted-dashed curves represent the period of oscilla-
tions in the on-site substrate potential 共C l ⫽0 and C nl ⫽0兲.

(C l ,C nl ) ␣ (2C l ,C nl ) energy localization in the breather imposes a strict limitation

in the strength of linear or nonlinear coupling, to ensure
共0,0兲 2(x 20 ⫺1) small-amplitude oscillations for all the particles other than
(C l ,0) 2(x 20 ⫺1)⫹4C l the CP. As a consequence, the size of the parameter region
(0,C nl ) 2(x 0 ⫺1)⫹8C nl (2⫹x 0 )
2
0 ⭐x 0 ⭐x 0 must be sufficiently small. Hereafter, we use
x ec c

(C l ,C nl ) ␤ (2C l ,C nl ) C l ⫽6.500⫻10⫺4 and C nl ⫽1.909⫻10⫺4 , for which x ec 0

⫽1.411 99.
共0,0兲 2(x 20 ⫺1) Although the CP plays the prominent role in the motion of
(C l ,0)
2共x20⫺1兲⫹4Cl 1⫹ 冉 4x0
x20⫺1 冊 a highly localized breather mode, the role of the other par-
ticles of the system cannot be ignored in a discrete system,

冉 冊
because they are involved in the energy-exchange or com-
(0,C nl ) x0共x20⫹3兲
2共x20⫺1兲⫹8Cnl 2⫹ pactification processes, which we discuss below. An analyti-
x20⫺1 cal description of the motion of these particles (s⫾1) may
be obtained by rewriting Eq. 共5兲 as follows:

and the coupling parameters. The dotted-dashed curve in Fig. d 2 ⌬x s⫾1

⬇⫺ ␻ 20 ⌬x s⫾1 ⫹V 0 G 共 t 兲 , 共12兲
3 represents the normalized period T e /T 0 for oscillations of dt 2
the CP as a function of its initial position x 0 , in the absence
of coupling. T e /T 0 becomes infinite when the initial position where the function G in the right-hand side of Eq. 共12兲 is
of the CP coincides with the critical value: x 0 ⫽x c0 ⫽& 共as given by
indicated in Fig. 3 by a vertical dotted line兲. Thus, in the
absence of coupling, the CP would be unable to cross the G 共 t 兲 ⫽G l 共 t 兲 ⫹G nl 共 t 兲
potential barrier for initial positions such that x 0 ⭐x c0 . In the
presence of coupling, T e is represented by the solid curves in ⫽C l 关 1⫹x 共 t 兲兴 ⫹C nl 关 1⫹x 共 t 兲兴 3

冋 册
Fig. 3, which show that the CP is now able to cross the q
potential barrier for initial positions below x c0 , in the region ⫽C l 1⫹x 0 兺 P 2n⫹1 cos共 2n⫹1 兲 ⍀t
0 ⭐x 0 ⭐x 0 . Here, the coupling plays a crucial role in the
x ec c n⫽0

冋 册
sense that it is required for the CP to execute large-amplitude q 3
oscillations from one to the other side of the potential barrier.
On the other hand, the achievement of the ultimate degree of
⫹C nl 1⫹x 0 兺
n⫽0
P 2n⫹1 cos共 2n⫹1 兲 ⍀t , 共13兲
PRE 62 OSCILLATIONS OF A HIGHLY DISCRETE BREATHER . . . 5771

TABLE III. Characteristic parameters g iQ for linear Q⫽l and odically, the velocities of all those particles are set to zero
nonlinear Q⫽nl coupling, for the motion of particles s⫾1 in the after a specified number of time steps. In doing so, we peri-
untrapped regime, described by Eqs. 共14兲, 共15兲, and 共16兲. odically extract energy from the system until all the particles
cease to move. Once this process is completed, the effective
Linear potential V eff of the breather can be obtained from the fol-
coupling (g il ) Nonlinear coupling (g inl ) lowing expression 共taking into account all particles of the

冉 冊
chain兲:
3x20
g 0l ⫽C l

冋
g0nl⫽Cnl 1⫹ 共 P21⫹P23兲
2 Cl C nl
g 1l ⫽C l x 0 P 1 g1nl⫽3Cnlx0P1 1⫹ 冋 x20
共 P21⫹P1P3⫹2P23兲 册 V eff⬅ 兺n V 0 共x ⫺x 兲 2 ⫹
2 n⫹1 n 4
共 x n⫹1 ⫺x n 兲 4

册
4
3x20 1
g 2l ⫽0 g2nl⫽Cnl 共 P21⫹2P1P3兲 ⫹ 共 1⫺x 2n 兲 2 , 共17兲
4

冠 冡册
2

g 3l ⫽C l x 0 P 3 g3nl⫽Cnl 冋 共x0P1兲3
4
x 20
⫹3x0P3 1⫹ 共 P 23 ⫹2 P 21 兲
4
which is schematically represented by the dashed curve in
Figs. 2, in a very qualitative way. Indeed, this potential dif-
g 4l ⫽0 g 4nl ⫽3C nl x 20 P 1 P 3 fers clearly from the effective potential V e of the CP 共solid
curve in Fig. 2兲 only when the strength of the coupling forces
is sufficiently important. In the weak coupling limit under
q is an integer whose value depends on the order of approxi-
consideration throughout the present paper, V eff is essentially
mation that is desired. The functions G l (t) and G nl (t) can be
identical to V e . Hereafter, unless otherwise specified, we
rewritten into the general form
take V 0 ⫽1.
J

G Q共 t 兲 ⫽ 兺 g iQ cos共 i⍀t 兲 ,
i⫽0
where the index Q stands for l or nl. The coefficients g iQ are
given in Table III for the highest-amplitude harmonics (i
⫽0,1,2,3,4). Keeping only these harmonics, with the initial
conditions: ⌬x s⫾1 (0)⬇0, and ⌬ẋ s⫾1 (0)⬇0, we obtain the
following approximate solution for Eq. 共12兲:
冋冉 冊 册 冉 冊
J
n ␻ 0t ⌬ ␻ nt
兺 X n sin
⌬x s⫾1 共 t 兲 ⬇ 1⫹ sin
n⫽0 m 2 2
where we have set
m⫽
␻0
⍀
, 冉 冊
⌬ ␻ n ⫽ 1⫺
n
␻ ,
m 0
X n⫽
Equation 共15兲 shows that the motion of the particles (s
⫾1) depends strongly on the coupling parameters (C l ,C nl )
through X n , which depends on g nQ . Furthermore, the am-
plitudes X n in Eq. 共15兲 become infinite when m⫽ ␻ 0 /⍀ is a
nonzero integer. This resonant process is only qualitatively
correct because of the approximate nature of Eq. 共15兲. A
resonant phenomenon can thus occur in the system if a
higher-order harmonic of the breather coincides with the fre-
quency of small-amplitude oscillations 共in the bottom of one
of the two wells of the substrate potential兲, ␻ 0 . All of the
above qualitative considerations are remarkably well-
confirmed by the numerical simulations that we have per-
formed using the equations of motion of the system, Eq. 共2兲.
The numerical method used to obtained the initial configu-
ration of the breather, as schematically represented in Fig. 1,
is the so-called ‘‘relaxation process’’ 关21兴. We accomplish
this relaxation by, first, putting the CP to a given position x 0
共in the potential well labeled ‘‘B’’ in Fig. 1兲, and all the other
particles in the bottom of the wells ‘‘A.’’ Then, we let all the
particles 共except the CP兲 to move according to Eq. 共2兲. Peri-
共14兲 A. Linear coupling
Figures 4, that we have obtained for x 0 ⫽1.414, show that
as soon as the CP is released from a position x 0 ⬎x ec 0
⫽1.411 99, it executes a large-amplitude oscillatory motion
from one to the other side of the potential barrier 关see Fig.
4共a1兲兴. In Figs. 4共a1兲, 4共b1兲, 4共c1兲, and 4共d1兲, we have rep-
resented the motion of the CP 共s兲 and its neighbors: s⫾1, s
⫾2, s⫾3, and in Figs. 4共a2兲, 4共b2兲, 4共c2兲, and 4共d2兲, the
Fourier spectra of each motion, respectively. These spectra
, 共15兲 reveal that the breather motion is made up of a fundamental
frequency ⍀ and a few higher-order harmonics n⍀. But,
only odd harmonics contribute to the breather motion and
those harmonics are present in the motion of all the particles
m2
g .
m ⫺n 2 nQ
2
that make up the breather, i.e., the CP and its nearest neigh-
bors s⫾1. Furthermore, we see that particles s⫾2 and s
⫾3 oscillate at the phonon frequency ␻ 0 with amplitudes
共16兲
that increase in time 共at least in the first stage of the dynam-
ics兲. This behavior indicates that a small amount of the en-
ergy that was initially localized on the three particles, s and
s⫾1, is progressively transferred to other lattice sites
through a phonon-radiation process. Indeed, owing to the
linear coupling, a phonon band: ␻ k⫽ ␻ 0关 1
⫹2C l sin2 k/2兴 1/2, 0⭐k⭐ ␲ , exists in the frequency spec-
trum of the system, whether the breather is present or not in
the lattice. In the very weak coupling limit that we consider,
the upper phonon band edge lies very close to ␻ 0 . Thus, the
breather motion acts as a source of excitation of the phonon
spectrum, leading to small oscillations at frequency ␻ 0 for
particles that lie away from the breather, as Figs. 4共c2兲 and
4共d2兲 show. The conversion of the CP energy into phonon-
mode energy occurs in a relatively smooth and continuous
manner 共low-conversion regime兲.
As mentioned above, the breather motion involves a fun-
damental frequency ⍀ that always lies in the gap below the
lower-phonon band edge: ⍀⬍ ␻ 0 . Consequently, as ⍀ de-
pends on the initial position x 0 of the CP 共see Fig. 3兲, a
higher-order harmonic of ⍀ may 共for some specific values of
5772 E. COQUET, M. REMOISSENET, AND P. TCHOFO DINDA
FIG. 4. Plots showing the temporal evolution of the positions 共in
arb. units兲 of particles that make up the breather motion, obtained
by solving exactly the discrete equations of motion 共2兲, for x 0
⫽1.414, C l ⫽6.5⫻10⫺4 and C nl ⫽0. 共a1兲: x s (t). 共b1兲: ⌬x s⫾1 (t)
⫽1⫹x s⫾1 (t). 共c1兲: ⌬x s⫾2 (t)⫽1⫹x s⫾2 (t). 共d1兲: ⌬x s⫾3 (t)⫽1
⫹x s⫾3 (t). t designates the time 共in arb. units兲. 共a2兲, 共b2兲, 共c2兲, and
共d2兲 show the Fourier transforms of the motion represented in 共a1兲,
共b1兲, 共c1兲, and 共d1兲, respectively. Each peak in 共a2兲 and 共b2兲 corre-
sponds to an harmonic n⍀ of the breather motion. In 共a2兲, the
labels ‘‘1,’’ ‘‘3,’’ ‘‘5,’’ and ‘‘7’’ indicate the harmonics that are
present in the CP motion.
x 0 兲 make direct resonance with phonon modes, thus produc-
ing a strong transfer of energy away from the breather
共strong-conversion regime兲. Such a situation is represented
in Figs. 5, where for x 0 ⫽1.4122 we have represented the
motions of the CP and particles s⫾1 and their respective
Fourier spectra. Note that the size of the phonon band is so
small that only a single harmonic can be present inside this
phonon band ␻ 0 ⭐n⍀⭐ ␻ ␲ ⫽ 关 ␻ 20 ⫹4C l 兴 1/2. The resonance
phenomenon observed in Fig. 5共a2兲 results from the presence
of the harmonic n⫽5 in the phonon band, which causes a
large enhancement of the amplitude of oscillations for all
particles 共except the CP兲, in particular for particles that are
far away from the CP. For example, in the strong-conversion
regime, the amplitude of oscillations for the particles s⫾2
and s⫾3 is by more than one order of magnitude larger than
in the low-conversion regime 关compare Fig. 4共c1兲 with Fig.
5共c1兲, or Fig. 4共d1兲 with Fig. 5共d1兲兴. However, it is worth
noting in Fig. 5共a1兲 that this strong conversion regime does
not cause a substantial drop in the amplitude of the CP os-
PRE 62
FIG. 5. Plots obtained in the same conditions as for Figs. 4, but
with x 0 ⫽1.4122.
cillations, owing to the weakness of the coupling forces be-
tween adjacent particles.
B. Nonlinear coupling
For x 0 ⫽1.414, C l ⫽0, and C nl ⫽1.909⫻10⫺4 , Figs. 6共a1兲
and 6共a2兲 show that, the CP motion exhibits the same general
features as for the linear coupling cases considered above
关Figs. 4共a1兲 and 4共a2兲, and Figs. 5共a1兲 and 5共a2兲兴 in the sense
that only odd harmonics of the breather motion are present in
the CP motion. Figs. 6共b1兲 and 6共b2兲 reveal the presence of
all harmonics 共odd and even兲 in the motion of the nearest
neighbors of the CP, whereas only odd harmonics are present
in the linear coupling case 关see Figs. 4共b1兲 and 4共b2兲, and
Figs. 5共b1兲 and 5共b2兲兴. Moreover, we see in Figs. 6共a1兲,
6共b1兲, and 6共c1兲 that the amplitude of oscillations of particles
lying away from the CP decreases abruptly from x s ⬎1 共for
the CP兲 to ⌬x s⫾2 ⬃10⫺10, and no appreciable motion is de-
tected for particles s⫾3. This abrupt localization of energy
within the breather demonstrates the ability of a breather to
‘‘compactify’’ in a nonlinear Klein-Gordon lattice with an
on-site double-well potential. However, we are unable to
prove analytically that we have a ‘‘compactonic’’ behavior
in a strict mathematical sense. Nevertheless, such breathers
will be referred to as compactons in a physical sense 共i.e., a
discrete breather with abrupt localization兲. In this context,
the energy localization on only three particles (s,s⫾1) cor-
responds to the ultimate degree of energy localization in a
PRE 62 OSCILLATIONS OF A HIGHLY DISCRETE BREATHER . . . 5773

TABLE IV. Characteristic parameters k̂ 2e for the CP motion in

the trapped regime, for zero 共0,0兲, linear (C l ,0) and nonlinear
(0,C nl ) coupling.

(C l ,C nl ) k̂ e2( C l ,C nl )

2共x20⫺1兲
共0,0兲
x20

(C l ,0) 冋
k̂e2共0,0兲 1⫹
2C l 共 x 20 ⫺1⫹x 0 ⫺2 共 2⫺x 20 兲 1/2兲
共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 2
册
2
(0,C nl ) k̂e共0,0兲 1⫹ 冋 2C nl 共 x 30 ⫹x 0 ⫹4 共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 ⫹ 共 x 20 ⫺3 兲共 2⫺x 20 兲 1/2兲
共 x 20 ⫺1 兲 2
册
Sec. III. The solution, in terms of the Jacobi elliptic function
dn 关18兴 with modulus k̂ 2e ⬍1, may be written as

x 共 t 兲 ⬇x 0 dn共 ŵ e t,k̂ 2e 兲 , 共18兲

where ŵ e (C l ,C nl )⬇ŵ e (0,0)⫽x 0 (V 0 /2) 1/2. The parameters

FIG. 6. Plots showing the evolution of the positions 共in arb. k̂ 2e (C l ,C nl ) are displayed in Table IV. Solution 共18兲 corre-
units兲 of particles that make up the breather motion, for x 0
sponds to oscillations of period T̂ e and frequency ⍀̂:
⫽1.414, C l ⫽0, and C nl ⫽1.909⫻10⫺4 . 共a1兲: x s (t). 共b1兲: ⌬x s⫾1 (t)
共c1兲: ⌬x s⫾2 (t). t designates the time 共in arb. units兲. 共a2兲, 共b2兲, and
共c2兲 show the Fourier transforms of the motion represented in 共a1兲, 2
共b1兲, and 共c1兲, respectively. T̂ e ⫽ K 共 k̂ 2e 兲 with K 共 k̂ 2e 兲
ŵ e

冕
discrete breather. Furthermore, Fig. 6共b2兲 shows that the ␲ /2 du 2␲
chosen initial particle position x 0 ⫽1.414 corresponds to a ⫽ and ⍀̂⫽ . 共19兲
situation where the fourth harmonic of the breather motion
resonates with phonon modes. As a result, the amplitudes of
0
冑1⫺k̂ 2
e sin2 u T̂ e

oscillations of particles s⫾2 关see Fig. 6共c1兲兴 are found to be, In the weak coupling limit, Eq. 共18兲 can be rewritten as 共see
by more than one order of magnitude, larger than the corre- Ref. 关18兴兲:
sponding amplitudes in any off-resonant case in the region
x 0 ⬇1.414. Thus, the compactification of the breather is pre-
served even in the presence of the resonance phenomenon, as
long as the coupling forces are sufficiently weak.
x 共 t 兲 ⬇x 0 冋 ␲
2K 共 k̂ 2 兲
⫹ 兺
⬁

n⫽1
册
Q 2n cos共 2n⍀̂t 兲 , ⍀̂⫽2 ␲ /T̂ e ,

As a general remark for the whole untrapped regime, it is 共20兲

worth noting that the deviation between the analytical ex-
pression of the CP motion in Eq. 共8兲, x(t), and the numerical where

冉 冊
solutions X s (t), measured by ⌳⫽ 兺 n 关 X s (n dt)
⫺x(n dt) 兴 2 /x 0 共where dt is the time step兲 does not exceed ␲ F 共 1⫺k̂ 2 兲
2%. Equation 共8兲 therefore provides a highly accurate repre- Q 2n ⫽ cosh⫺1 ␲ n . 共21兲
sentation of the CP motion in the untrapped regime. K 共 k̂ 2 兲 K 共 k̂ 2 兲

IV. TRAPPED REGIME
In this regime, the CP starts out at a position x 0 ⬍x ec 0 ,
with a potential energy that is below the critical level for
crossing the barrier of the effective potential: V e (x 0 )
⬍V e (x em2 ) 共see Fig. 2兲. The CP is therefore trapped in the
shallower well while all the other particles oscillate in the
deepest well. This situation, which has been largely ne-
glected in all previous discretized field theories of a breather
motion, makes one of the greatest qualitative differences
with respect to the breather motion in a lattice with a single-
well on-site potential 共in which only a single regime exists兲
关10兴. In the weak coupling limit, Eq. 共4兲 can be integrated via
a quadrature, in a similar way as for the untrapped regime in
On the other hand, we have found from numerical simu-
lations that in the trapped regime the breather exhibits the
same general features in both linear and nonlinear coupling
cases, except that in the nonlinear case the breather energy is
abruptly localized on the CP and its nearest and next-nearest
neighbors. We present below only this latter case.
Figures 7, which show the numerical solution of Eqs. 共2兲
for x 0 ⫽1.410, represent a typical breather motion. Figure
7共a1兲 shows that the CP moves off the initial position x 0 共in
the shallower well兲 and attempts to proceed to the deepest
well of the effective potential, but cannot do so because its
kinetic energy is not sufficient to overcome the potential bar-
rier. As a result, the CP remains trapped in this shallow well
during the ensuing motion, with an amplitude of oscillations
5774 E. COQUET, M. REMOISSENET, AND P. TCHOFO DINDA
FIG. 7. Plots showing the particle dynamics in the trapped re-
gime of the CP, for x 0 ⫽1.410, C l ⫽0 and C nl ⫽1.909⫻10⫺4 .
that is nearly half of the amplitude for a typical untrapped
regime. Moreover, the mean positions of the particles are
shifted in the direction of the shallow well, thus leading to
the presence of a dc component in the Fourier transform of
the motion of those particles 关see Figs. 7共a2兲 and 7共b2兲兴.
Even and odd harmonics are present in the motion contrary
to the untrapped regime with linear coupling forces, where
only odd harmonics are present in the breather motion 关Figs.
4共a2兲 and 4共b2兲, or Figs. 5共a2兲 and 5共b2兲兴. Furthermore, Figs.
7共a2兲 and 7共b2兲 demonstrate that the chosen initial condition
for the CP corresponds to a situation where a resonance oc-
curs, owing to the presence of the second harmonic in the
phonon band. The amplitude of oscillation for particles s
⫾2 remains within ⯝10⫺9 , and no appreciable motion was
detected for the other particles. This behavior therefore re-
veals the ability of a ⌽-four breather to compactify in the
trapped regime.
As a general remark, for all the trapped regimes, we note
that the deviation between the CP motion in Eq. 共18兲, and the
numerical solutions, measured by ⌳ 共defined above兲, does
not exceed 5%; which corresponds to a fairly good agree-
ment.
V. CRITICAL REGIME
When the CP is released from position x 0 ⬇x ec0 , its en-
ergy is just sufficient to overcome the potential barrier. In
this case, the breather motion depends critically on the en-
ergy transfer process from the CP to the neighboring lattice
sites. The dynamics can be arbitrarily divided into two main
categories of breather oscillations, which are discussed be-
low for the linear coupling case only, because the dynamical
behavior in the nonlinear coupling case is similar.
PRE 62
FIG. 8. Plots showing the particle dynamics in the critical re-
gime for C l ⫽6.5⫻10⫺4 and C nl ⫽0. x 0 ⫽1.411 992: 共a1兲, 共b1兲, and
共c1兲. x 0 ⫽1.411 996: 共a2兲, 共b2兲, and 共c2兲.
A. Trapped regime in the deepest well of the effective potential
In the presence of linear coupling forces, for x 0
⫽1.411 992, Fig. 8共a1兲 shows a particular situation in which
the CP is initially untrapped and then becomes trapped in the
deepest well. The CP potential energy is initially sufficient to
permit it to overcome the potential barrier. The CP moves up
to the deepest well of the effective potential, reaches the
turning point, then begins to travel back to the shallow well,
and finally has an energy that is no longer sufficient for
crossing the potential barrier. It is therefore trapped in the
deepest well of the potential during the ensuing oscillatory
motion. We attribute this trapping to the fact that, a small
fraction of CP energy is converted into energy for its neigh-
bors, through a phonon emission process, as we already men-
tioned above. Although this energy conversion process is
very weak in case of small coupling forces, it is sufficient to
play a crucial role in the critical regime.
B. Temporary trapping
When the initial position is x 0 ⫽1.411 996 关slightly larger
than x 0 in Fig. 8共a1兲兴 the energy is just sufficient for the CP
to execute several untrapped oscillations in the beginning of
its motion. In this case, Fig. 8共a2兲 shows that the CP ex-
ecutes several untrapped oscillations at one go, before under-
going a transition to the trapped regime. A careful examina-
tion of Fig. 8 共b2兲 reveals that the trapping of the CP occurs
precisely when the amplitude of oscillations of the nearest
neighbors, s⫾1, attains its maximum 共at t⬇100兲. In other
words, this trapping occurs exactly when a part of energy
that was initially stored in the CP is transferred to the nearest
neighbors s⫾1 共amplitude ⯝2⫻10⫺3 兲. Then, after a while,
the energy lost by the CP is 共at least in part兲 transferred back
PRE 62 OSCILLATIONS OF A HIGHLY DISCRETE BREATHER . . .
to the CP while this particle is moving in the direction of the
potential barrier; which permits the CP to cross again the
potential barrier. So, the CP executes several untrapped os-
cillations, until a second temporary trapping occurs. We ob-
serve in Fig. 8共a2兲 that the CP undergoes several temporary
trappings in this untrapped regime. Thus, the existence of a
critical regime for a Klein-Gordon breather makes the great-
est qualitative difference with previous studies on the
breather dynamics in nonlinear Klein-Gordon systems. Our
results in Figs. 8 therefore demonstrate that Klein-Gordon
breathers are collective entities that possess a much richer
temporal structure of modes than that of a simple particle.
VI. CONCLUSION
We have investigated theoretically the dynamics of a
highly discrete breather in the ultimate degree of energy lo-
calization in a nonlinear Klein-Gordon lattice, with weak in-
terparticle coupling, submitted to a ⌽-four substrate poten-
tial. In this system, the central particle 共CP兲 executes
relatively large-amplitude nonlinear oscillations, while all
the other particles of the lattice execute small-amplitude os-
cillations around their equilibrium positions. For this ⌽-four
breather, we have demonstrated the existence of several re-
gimes of oscillatory motion.
共i兲 We have observed an untrapped regime in which the
CP executes large-amplitude oscillations from one to the
other side of the potential barrier.
共ii兲 In other parameter regions, we find the trapped re-
gime, in which the CP is trapped in one of the two wells of
its effective potential throughout its motion. Since the cou-
pling forces breaks the symmetry of the two wells of the
effective potential of the CP, two types of trapped regimes
can occur depending on whether this CP is trapped in the
deepest or shallower well of the potential. The trapped re-
gime in the deepest well corresponds to the case where all
the particles that make up the breather oscillate on the same
side of the potential barrier, whereas the trapped regime in
the well with the smallest depth corresponds to the case
where the CP oscillates in the shallow well while all the
other particles oscillate in the deepest well.
共iii兲 Between the untrapped and trapped regimes, we have
identified a critical regime, which occurs when the CP starts
out its motion in the shallower well with an energy that is
just sufficient to cross the potential barrier. Then the CP
undergoes several temporary trappings within an untrapped
regime. This temporary trapping occurs because energy is
transferred from the CP to the nearest neighbors. However,
the nearest neighbors can synchronously transfer energy
back to the CP precisely when this particle is attempting to
cross the potential barrier, which then causes the CP to be-
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come untrapped. This behavior result makes the greatest
qualitative difference from previous work 关10兴 and related
studies on breather dynamics 关14,22兴.
On the other hand, we have shown that although the cou-
pling forces between adjacent particles are very weak, in all
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