Wave scattering by discrete breathers

TL;DR

This paper provides a theoretical analysis of how linear waves scatter in one-dimensional nonlinear lattices due to discrete breathers, revealing interference effects and transmission characteristics influenced by breather properties.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical framework for wave scattering by discrete breathers, highlighting the impact of breather type and internal dynamics on transmission.

Findings

Transmission depends on wave number q and breather frequency Omega_b.

Different breather types cause distinct scattering and interference patterns.

Internal time dependence of breathers significantly affects wave transmission.

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of linear wave scattering in one-dimensional nonlinear lattices by intrinsic spatially localized dynamic excitations or discrete breathers. These states appear in various nonlinear systems and present a time-periodic localized scattering potential for plane waves. We consider the case of elastic one-channel scattering, when the frequencies of incoming and transmitted waves coincide, but the breather provides with additional spatially localized ac channels whose presence may lead to various interference patterns. The dependence of the transmission coefficient on the wave number q and the breather frequency Omega_b is studied for different types of breathers: acoustic and optical breathers, and rotobreathers. We identify several typical scattering setups where the internal time dependence of the breather is of crucial importance for the observed transmission properties.