Modulational and Parametric Instabilities of the Discrete Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Equation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how periodic variations in a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation influence modulational and parametric instabilities, revealing a new parametric instability window relevant to Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices.

Contribution

It introduces the analysis of parametric instability in a non-autonomous discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation, expanding understanding of dynamical behaviors in Bose-Einstein condensates.

Findings

Parametric instability appears alongside modulational instability under periodic barrier variations.

Parametric instability develops over larger timescales than modulational instability.

Numerical and multiple-scale analysis identify and characterize the parametric instability.

Abstract

We examine the modulational and parametric instabilities arising in a non-autonomous, discrete nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation setting. The principal motivation for our study stems from the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in a deep optical lattice. We find that under periodic variations of the heights of the interwell barriers (or equivalently of the scattering length), additionally to the modulational instability, a window of parametric instability becomes available to the system. We explore this instability through multiple-scale analysis and identify it numerically. Its principal dynamical characteristic is that, typically, it develops over much larger times than the modulational instability, a feature that is qualitatively justified by comparison of the corresponding instability growth rates.