The Discrete Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation with a random potential in one dimension is studied as a dynamical system. It is characterized by the length, the strength of the random potential and by the field density that determines the effect of nonlinearity. The probability of the system to be regular is established numerically and found to be a scaling function. This property is used to calculate the asymptotic properties of the system in regimes beyond our computational power.
The dynamics of a disordered nonlinear chain can be either regular or chaotic with a certain probability. The chaotic behavior is often associated with the destruction of Anderson localization by the nonlinearity. In the presentwork it is argued that at weak nonlinearity chaos is nucleated locally on rare resonant segments of the chain. Based on this picture, the probability of chaos is evaluated analytically. The same probability is also evaluated by direct numerical sampling of disorder realizations and quantitative agreement between the two results is found.
The subject of this study is the long-time equilibration dynamics of a strongly disordered one-dimensional chain of coupled weakly anharmonic classical oscillators. It is argued that chaos in this system has a very particular spatial structure: it can be viewed as a dilute gas of chaotic spots. Each chaotic spot corresponds to a stochastic pump which drives the Arnold diffusion of the oscillators surrounding it, thus leading to their relaxation and thermalization. The most important mechanism of relaxation at long distances is provided by random migration of the chaotic spots along the chain, …
We observe a crossover from strong to weak chaos in the spatiotemporal evolution of multiple site excitations within disordered chains with cubic nonlinearity. Recent studies have shown that Anderson localization is destroyed, and the wave packet spreading is characterized by an asymptotic divergence of the second moment $m_2$ in time (as $t^{1/3}$), due to weak chaos. In the present paper, we observe the existence of a qualitatively new dynamical regime of strong chaos, in which the second moment spreads even faster (as $t^{1/2}$), with a crossover to the asymptotic law of weak chaos at large…
Do nonlinear waves destroy Anderson localization? Computational and experimental studies yield subdiffusive nonequilibrium wave packet spreading. Chaotic dynamics and phase decoherence assumptions are used for explaining the data. We perform a quantitative analysis of the nonequilibrium chaos assumption, and compute the time dependence of main chaos indicators - Lyapunov exponents and deviation vector distributions. We find a slowing down of chaotic dynamics, which does not cross over into regular dynamics up to the largest observed time scales, still being fast enough to allow for a thermaliz…
We study the discrete nonlinear Schröinger equation with weak disorder, focusing on the regime when the nonlinearity is, on the one hand, weak enough for the normal modes of the linear problem to remain well resolved, but on the other, strong enough for the dynamics of the normal mode amplitudes to be chaotic for almost all modes. We show that in this regime and in the limit of high temperature, the macroscopic density $ρ$ satisfies the nonlinear diffusion equation with a density-dependent diffusion coefficient, $D(ρ)=D_0ρ^2$. An explicit expression for $D_0$ is obtained in terms of the eigenf…
We probe the limits of nonlinear wave spreading in disordered chains which are known to localize linear waves. We particularly extend recent studies on the regimes of strong and weak chaos during subdiffusive spreading of wave packets [EPL {\bf 91}, 30001 (2010)] and consider strong disorder, which favors Anderson localization. We probe the limit of infinite disorder strength and study Fröhlich-Spencer-Wayne models. We find that the assumption of chaotic wave packet dynamics and its impact on spreading is in accord with all studied cases. Spreading appears to be asymptotic, without any observa…
This thesis focuses on the mechanisms of energy transport in multidimensional heterogeneous lattice models, studying in particular the case of the Klein-Gordon model of coupled anharmonic oscillators in one and two spatial dimensions. We report the effects of the type of the impurity (heterogeneity) parameter on the systems' transport properties and classifies the transport mechanisms of the nonlinear versions of the models into various dynamical regimes. We also identify computationally efficient numerical integration techniques, including the so-called symplectic integrators, and implement t…
We numerically investigate the characteristics of chaos evolution during wave packet spreading in two typical one-dimensional nonlinear disordered lattices: the Klein-Gordon system and the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation model. Completing previous investigations \cite{SGF13} we verify that chaotic dynamics is slowing down both for the so-called `weak' and `strong chaos' dynamical regimes encountered in these systems, without showing any signs of a crossover to regular dynamics. The value of the finite-time maximum Lyapunov exponent $Λ$ decays in time $t$ as $Λ\propto t^{α_Λ}$, with $α_…
We reveal the generic characteristics of wave packet delocalization in two-dimensional nonlinear disordered lattices by performing extensive numerical simulations in two basic disordered models: the Klein-Gordon system and the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We find that in both models (a) the wave packet's second moment asymptotically evolves as $t^{a_m}$ with $a_m \approx 1/5$ ($1/3$) for the weak (strong) chaos dynamical regime, in agreement with previous theoretical predictions [S.~Flach, Chem.~Phys.~{\bf 375}, 548 (2010)], (b) chaos persists, but its strength decreases in time $t…
We study chaoticity and thermalization in Bose-Einstein condensates in disordered lattices, described by the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation (DNLS). A symplectic integration method allows us to accurately obtain both the full phase space trajectories and their maximum Lyapunov exponents (mLEs), which characterize their chaoticity. We find that disorder destroys ergodicity by breaking up phase space into subsystems that are effectively disjoint on experimentally relevant timescales, even though energetically, classical localisation cannot occur. This leads us to conclude that the mLE is…
We study a new statistics of wave functions in several chaotic and disordered systems: the random matrix model, band random matrix model, the Lipkin model, chaotic quantum billiard and the 1D tight-binding model. Both numerical and analytical results show that the distribution function of a generalized Riccati variable, defined as the ratio of components of eigenfunctions on basis states coupled by perturbation, is universal, and has the form of Lorentzian distribution.
Implementing the Generalized Alignment Index (GALI) method of chaos detection we investigate the dynamical behavior of the nonlinear disordered Klein-Gordon lattice chain in one spatial dimension. By performing extensive numerical simulations of single site and single mode initial excitations, for several disordered realizations and different disorder strengths, we determine the probability to observe chaotic behavior as the system is approaching its linear limit, i.e. when its total energy, which plays the role of the system's nonlinearity strength, decreases. We find that the percentage of c…
We study the chaotic behavior of multidimensional Hamiltonian systems in the presence of nonlinearity and disorder. It is known that any localized initial excitation in a large enough linear disordered system spreads for a finite amount of time and then halts forever. This phenomenon is called Anderson localization (AL). What happens to AL when nonlinearity is introduced is an interesting question which has been considered in several studies over the past decades. However, the characteristics and the asymptotic fate of such evolutions still remain an issue of intense debate due to their comput…
We study the time evolution of perturbations in spatially extended chaotic systems in the presence of quenched disorder. We find that initially random perturbations tend to exponentially localize in space around static pinning centers that are selected by the particular configuration of disorder. The spatial structure of typical perturbations, $δu(x,t)$, is analyzed in terms of the Hopf-Cole transform, $h(x,t) \equiv\ln|δu(x,t)|$. Our analysis shows that the associated surface $h(x,t)$ self-organizes into a faceted structure with scale-invariant correlations. Scaling analysis of critical rough…
We study the characteristics of chaos evolution of initially localized energy excitations in the one-dimensional nonlinear disordered Klein-Gordon lattice of anharmonic oscillators, by computing the time variation of the fundamental frequencies of the motion of each oscillator. We focus our attention on the dynamics of the so-called `weak' and `strong chaos' spreading regimes [2010, EPL 91 30001], for which Anderson localization is destroyed. Based on the fact that large variations of the fundamental frequencies denote strong chaotic behavior, we show that in both regimes chaos is more intense…
We numerically investigate the dynamics of an one-dimensional disordered lattice using the Hertzian model, describing a granular chain, and the $α+β$ Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou model (FPUT). The most profound difference between the two systems is the discontinuous nonlinearity of the granular chain appearing whenever neighboring particles are detached. We therefore sought to unravel the role of these discontinuities in the destruction of Anderson localization and their influence on the system's chaotic dynamics. Our results show that both models exhibit an energy range where localization coexist…
A version of scattering theory that was developed many years ago to treat nuclear scattering processes, has provided a powerful tool to study universality in scattering processes involving open quantum systems with underlying classically chaotic dynamics. Recently, it has been used to make random matrix theory predictions concerning the statistical properties of scattering resonances in mesoscopic electron waveguides and electromagnetic waveguides. We provide a simple derivation of this scattering theory and we compare its predictions to those obtained from an exactly solvable scattering model…
We present a semiclassical approach to eigenfunction statistics in chaotic and weakly disordered quantum systems which goes beyond Random Matrix Theory, supersymmetry techniques, and existing semiclassical methods. The approach is based on a generalization of Berry's Random Wave Model, combined with a consistent semiclassical representation of spatial two-point correlations. We derive closed expressions for arbitrary wavefunction averages in terms of universal coefficients and sums over classical paths, which contain, besides the supersymmetry results, novel oscillatory contributions. Their ph…
We investigate a 1D disordered Hamiltonian with a non analytical step-like dispersion relation whose level statistics is exactly described by Semi-Poisson statistics(SP). It is shown that this result is robust, namely, does not depend neither on the microscopic details of the potential nor on a magnetic flux but only on the type of non-analyticity. We also argue that a deterministic kicked rotator with a non-analytical step-like potential has the same spectral properties. Semi-Poisson statistics (SP), typical of pseudo-integrable billiards, has been frequently claimed to describe critical stat…
Defect-chaos is studied numerically in coupled Ginzburg-Landau equations for parametrically driven waves. The motion of the defects is traced in detail yielding their life-times, annihilation partners, and distances traveled. In a regime in which in the one-dimensional case the chaotic dynamics is due to double phase slips, the two-dimensional system exhibits a strongly ordered stripe pattern. When the parity-breaking instability to traveling waves is approached this order vanishes and the correlation function decays rapidly. In the ordered regime the defects have a typical life-time, whereas …
To characterize a destruction of Anderson localization by nonlinearity, we study the spreading behavior of initially localized states in disordered, strongly nonlinear lattices. Due to chaotic nonlinear interaction of localized linear or nonlinear modes, energy spreads nearly subdiffusively. Based on a phenomenological description by virtue of a nonlinear diffusion equation we establish a one-parameter scaling relation between the velocity of spreading and the density, which is confirmed numerically. From this scaling it follows that for very low densities the spreading slows down compared to …
Although it is now understood that chaos in complex classical systems is the foundation of thermodynamic behavior, the detailed relations between the microscopic properties of the chaotic dynamics and the macroscopic thermodynamic observations still remain mostly in the dark. In this work, we numerically analyze the probability of chaos in strongly nonlinear Hamiltonian systems and find different scaling properties depending on the nonlinear structure of the model. We argue that these different scaling laws of chaos have definite consequences for the macroscopic diffusive behavior, as chaos is…
In the study of subdiffusive wave-packet spreading in disordered Klein-Gordon (KG) nonlinear lattices, a central open question is whether the motion continues to be chaotic despite decreasing densities, or tends to become quasi-periodic as nonlinear terms become negligible. In a recent study of such KG particle chains with quartic (4th order) anharmonicity in the on-site potential, it was shown that $q-$Gaussian probability distribution functions of sums of position observables with $q > 1$ always approach pure Gaussians ($q=1$) in the long time limit and hence the motion of the full system is…
We investigate dynamically and statistically diffusive motion in a chain of linearly coupled 2-dimensional symplectic McMillan maps and find evidence of subdiffusion in weakly and strongly chaotic regimes when all maps of the chain possess a saddle point at the origin and the central map is initially excited. In the case of weak coupling, there is either absence of diffusion or subdiffusion with $q>1$-Gaussian probability distributions, characterizing weak chaos. However, for large enough coupling and already moderate number of maps, the system exhibits strongly chaotic ($q\approx 1$) subdiffu…
This paper reviews the physics of quantum disorder in relation with a series of experiments using laser-cooled atoms exposed to "kicks" of a standing wave, realizing a paradigmatic model of quantum chaos, the kicked rotor. This dynamical system can be mapped onto a tight-binding Hamiltonian with pseudo-disorder, formally equivalent to the Anderson model of quantum disorder, with quantum chaos playing the role of disorder. This provides a very good quantum simulator for the Anderson physics.
The effects of disorder in external forces on the dynamical behavior of coupled nonlinear oscillator networks are studied. When driven synchronously, i.e., all driving forces have the same phase, the networks display chaotic dynamics. We show that random phases in the driving forces result in regular, periodic network behavior. Intermediate phase disorder can produce network synchrony. Specifically, there is an optimal amount of phase disorder, which can induce the highest level of synchrony. These results demonstrate that the spatiotemporal structure of external influences can control chaos a…
Wavefunctions in chaotic and disordered quantum billiards are studied experimentally using thin microwave cavities. The chaotic wavefunctions display universal density distributions and density auto-correlations in agreement with expressions derived fro m a 0-D nonlinear $σ$-model of supersymmetry, which coincides with Random Matrix Theory. In contrast, disordered wavefunctions show deviations from this universal behavior due to Anderson localization. A systematic behavior of the distribution function is studied as a function of the localization length, and can be understood in the framework o…
The scaling behavior of the maximal Lyapunov exponent in chaotic systems with time-delayed feedback is investigated. For large delay times it has been shown that the delay-dependence of the exponent allows a distinction between strong and weak chaos, which are the analogy to strong and weak instability of periodic orbits in a delay system. We find significant differences between scaling of exponents in periodic or chaotic systems. We show that chaotic scaling is related to fluctuations in the linearized equations of motion. A linear delay system including multiplicative noise shows the same pr…
The character of the time-asymptotic evolution of physical systems can have complex, singular behavior with variation of a system parameter, particularly when chaos is involved. A perturbation of the parameter by a small amount $ε$ can convert an attractor from chaotic to non-chaotic or vice-versa. We call a parameter value where this can happen $ε$-uncertain. The probability that a random choice of the parameter is $ε$-uncertain commonly scales like a power law in $ε$. Surprisingly, two seemingly similar ways of defining this scaling, both of physical interest, yield different numerical value…
We study the statistics of the experimental eigenfunctions of chaotic and disordered microwave billiards in terms of the moments of their spatial distributions, such as the Inverse Participation Ratio (IPR) and density-density auto-correlation. A path from chaos to disorder is described in terms of increasing IPR. In the chaotic, ballistic limit, the data correspond well with universal results from random matrix theory. Deviations from universal distributions are observed due to disorder induced localization, and for the weakly disordered case the data are well-described by including finite co…
We perform novel energy and norm density resolved wave packet spreading studies in the disordered Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) lattice to confine energy density fluctuations. We map the locations of GP regimes of weak and strong chaos subdiffusive spreading in the 2D density control parameter space and observe strong chaos spreading over several decades. We obtain a renormalization of the ground state due to disorder, which allows for a new disorder-induced phase of disconnected insulating puddles of matter due to Lifshits tails. Inside this Lifshits phase, the wave packet spreading is substantially …
Coupled map lattices are a paradigm of higher-dimensional dynamical systems exhibiting spatio-temporal chaos. A special case of non-hyperbolic maps are one-dimensional map lattices of coupled Chebyshev maps with periodic boundary conditions, called chaotic strings. In this short note we show that the fine structure of the self energy of this chaotic string in the scaling region (i.e. for very small coupling) is retained if we reduce the length of the string to three lattice points.
A topological bifurcation in chaotic scattering is characterized by a sudden change in the topology of the infinite set of unstable periodic orbits embedded in the underlying chaotic invariant set. We uncover a scaling law for the fractal dimension of the chaotic set for such a bifurcation. Our analysis and numerical computations in both two- and three-degrees-of-freedom systems suggest a striking feature associated with these subtle bifurcations: the dimension typically exhibits a sharp, cusplike local minimum at the bifurcation.
We study numerically how the energy spreads over a finite disordered nonlinear one-dimensional lattice, where all linear modes are exponentially localized by disorder. We establish emergence of dynamical thermalization, characterized as an ergodic chaotic dynamical state with a Gibbs distribution over the modes. Our results show that the fraction of thermalizing modes is finite and grows with the nonlinearity strength.
The scaling behaviour of the Lyapunov exponent near the transition to chaos via type-III intermittency is determined for a generic map. A critical exponent $β$ expressing the scaling of the Lyapunov exponent as a function of both, the reinjection probability and the nonlinearity of the map is calculated. It is found that the critical exponent varies on the interval $0 < β< 1$. This contrasts with earlier predictions for the scaling behaviour of the Lyapunov exponent in type-III intermittency.
We investigate dynamically and statistically diffusive motion in a Klein-Gordon particle chain in the presence of disorder. In particular, we examine a low energy (subdiffusive) and a higher energy (self-trapping) case and verify that subdiffusive spreading is always observed. We then carry out a statistical analysis of the motion in both cases in the sense of the Central Limit Theorem and present evidence of different chaos behaviors, for various groups of particles. Integrating the equations of motion for times as long as $10^9$, our probability distribution functions always tend to Gaussian…
We study the dynamics of holes and defects in the 1D complex Ginzburg--Landau equation in ordered and chaotic cases. Ordered hole--defect dynamics occurs when an unstable hole invades a plane wave state and periodically nucleates defects from which new holes are born. The results of a detailed numerical study of these periodic states are incorporated into a simple analytic description of isolated "edge" holes. Extending this description, we obtain a minimal model for general hole--defect dynamics. We show that interactions between the holes and a self--disordered background are essential for t…
We numerically investigate the properties of speckle patterns formed by nonlinear point scatterers. We show that, in the weak localization regime, dynamical instability appears, eventually leading to chaotic behavior of the system. Analysing the statistical properties of the instability thresholds for different values of the system size and disorder strength, a scaling law is emphasized. The later is also found to govern the smallest decay rate of the linear system, putting thus forward the crucial importance of interference effects. This is also underlined by the fact that coherent backscatte…
We study a network of logistic maps with two types of global coupling, inertial and dissipative. Features of the clusterization process are revealed and compared, which are associated with presence of each type of couplings. For the parameter region near the onset of chaos we outline scaling properties in dynamical behavior of the network and illustrate them on the Kaneko phase diagrams.
Numerical studies of the domain chaos state in a model of rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection suggest that finite size effects may account for the discrepancy between experimentally measured values of the correlation length and the predicted divergence near onset.
We study the dynamical and chaotic behavior of a disordered one-dimensional elastic mechanical lattice which supports translational and rotational waves. The model used in this work is motivated by the recent experimental results of B. Deng et al., Nat. Commun. 9, 3410 (2018). This lattice is characterized by strong geometrical nonlinearities and the coupling of two degrees-of-freedom (DoFs) per site. Although the linear limit of the structure consists of a linear Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou lattice and a linear Klein-Gordon (KG) lattice whose DoFs are uncoupled, by using single site initial exci…
We study the conductance of chaotic or disordered wires in a situation where equilibrium transport decomposes into biased diffusion and a counter-moving regular current. A possible realization is a semiconductor nanostructure with transversal magnetic field and suitably patterned surfaces. We find a non-trivial dependence of the conductance on the wire length which differs qualitatively from Ohm's law by the existence of a characteristic length scale and a finite saturation value.
We study wave function structure for quantum graphs in the chaotic and disordered regime, using measures such as the wave function intensity distribution and the inverse participation ratio. The result is much less ergodicity than expected from random matrix theory, even though the spectral statistics are in agreement with random matrix predictions. Instead, analytical calculations based on short-time semiclassical behavior correctly describe the eigenstate structure.
We obtain a five-step approximation to the quasiperiodic dynamic scaling function for experimental Rayleigh-Be'nard convection data. When errors are taken into account in the experiment, the f(alpha) spectrum of scalings is equivalent to just two of these five scales. To overcome this limitation, we develop a robust technique for extracting the scaling function from experimental data by reconstructing the dynamics of the experiment.
We find the evolution toward power-law scaling in the distribution of roll lengths and nearest-neighbor distributions in a weakly turbulent regime of Rayleigh-Benard convection, known as spiral defect chaos. The state has a bounded domain of wave vectors in Fourier space attributed to the flow being highly confined to two dimensions. Our results indicates the existence of power-law scaling in the unconstrained horizontal dimension. The techniques described are broadly applicable to other pattern forming systems as well.
By analyzing large-aspect-ratio spiral-defect-chaos (SDC) convection images, we show that the Karhunen-Loève decomposition (KLD) scales extensively for subsystem-sizes larger than 4d (d is the fluid depth), which strongly suggests that SDC is extensively chaotic. From this extensive scaling, the intensive length ξ_KLD is computed and found to have a different dependence on the Rayleigh number than the two-point correlation length ξ_2. Local computations of ξ_KLD reveal a substantial spatial nonuniformity of SDC that extends over radii 18d< r < 45d in a Γ=109 aspect-ratio cell.
This is a continuation of our preceding paper devoted to signatures of quantum chaos in the geometric collective model of atomic nuclei. We apply the method by Peres to study ordered and disordered patterns in quantum spectra drawn as lattices in the plane of energy vs. average of a chosen observable. A good qualitative agreement with standard measures of chaos is manifested. The method provides an efficient tool for studying structural changes of eigenstates across quantum spectra of general systems.
Different numerical mappings of the DNA sequences have been studied using a new cluster-scaling method and the well known spectral methods. It is shown, in particular, that the nucleotide sequences in DNA molecules have robust cluster-scaling properties. These properties are relevant to both types of nucleotide pair-bases interactions: hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions. It is shown that taking into account the cluster-scaling properties can help to improve heterogeneous models of the DNA dynamics. It is also shown that a chaotic (deterministic) order, rather than a stochastic randomness…
Following a recent suggestion by Nielsen, Rugh, and Rugh, we study the energy scaling of the maximal Lyapunov exponent of classical Hamiltonian SU(2) lattice gauge theory. It is shown that the conjectured scaling behavior $λ_0\sim E^{1/4}$ at small energies on the lattice is a finite-time artifact. New numerical results for the maximal Lyapunov exponent are presented for lattices up to size $20^3$ and over two orders of magnitude in the energy per plaquette.
