Growth or decay of a coherent structure interacting with random waves.

Solitary waves interacting with random Rayleigh-Jeans distributed waves of a nonintegrable and noncollapsing nonlinear Schrödinger equation are studied. Two opposing types of dynamics are identified: First, the random thermal waves can erode the solitary wave; second, this structure can grow as a result of this interaction. These two types of behavior depend on a dynamical property of the solitary wave (its angular frequency), and on a statistical property of the thermal waves (the chemical potential). These two quantities are equal at a saddle point of the entropy that marks a transition between the two types of dynamics: high-amplitude coherent structures whose frequency exceeds the chemical potential grow and smaller structures with a lower frequency decay. Either process leads to an increase of the wave entropy. We show this using a thermodynamic model of two coupled subsystems, one representing the solitary wave and one for the thermal waves. Numerical simulations verify our results.

Ensemble dynamics and the emergence of correlations in one- and two-dimensional wave turbulence.

We investigate statistical properties of wave turbulence by monitoring the dynamics of ensembles of trajectories. The system under investigation is a simplified model for surface gravity waves in one and two dimensions with a square-root dispersion and a four-wave interaction term. The simulations of decaying turbulence confirm the Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectral power distribution of wave turbulence theory. Fourth-order correlations are computed numerically as ensemble averages of trajectories. The shape, scaling, and time evolution of the correlations agree with the predictions of wave turbulence theory.

Transition of weak wave turbulence to wave turbulence with intermittent collapses.

We study the dynamics of one-dimensional nonlinear waves with a square-root dispersion. This dispersion allows strong interactions of distant modes in wave-number space, and it leads to a modulational instability of a carrier wave interacting with distant sidebands. Weak wave turbulence is found when the system is damped and weakly driven. A driving force that exceeds a critical strength leads to wave collapses coexisting with weak wave turbulence. We explain this transition behavior with the modulational instability of waves with the highest power: Below the threshold the instability is suppressed by the external long-wave damping force. Above the threshold the instability initiates wave collapses.

Spontaneous breaking of the spatial homogeneity symmetry in wave turbulence.

We report a surprising new result for wave turbulence which may have broader ramifications for general turbulence theories. Spatial homogeneity, the symmetry property that all statistical moments are functions only of the relative geometry of any configuration of points, can be spontaneously broken by the instability of the finite flux Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectrum in certain (usually one dimensional) situations. As a result, the nature of the statistical attractor changes dramatically, from a sea of resonantly interacting dispersive waves to an ensemble of coherent radiating pulses.

Turbulent transfer of energy by radiating pulses.

We propose a new mechanism for turbulent transport in systems which support radiating nonlinear solitary wave packets or pulses. The direct energy cascade is provided by adiabatically evolving pulses, whose widths and carrier wavelengths decrease. The inverse cascade is due to the excitation of radiation. The spectrum is steeper than the Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectrum of wave turbulence.

Transition behavior of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Many nonlinear lattice systems exhibit high-amplitude localized structures, or discrete breathers. Such structures emerge in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation when the energy is above a critical threshold. This paper studies the statistical mechanics at the transition and constructs the probability distribution in the regime where breathers emerge. The entropy as a function of the energy is nonanalytic at the transition. The entropy is independent of the energy in the regime of breathers above the transition.

Intermittent movement of localized excitations of a nonlinear lattice.

The mobility of localized high-amplitude excitations of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation is studied. The excitations can either be pinned at the lattice or they can propagate depending on their energy and particle number. Such localized excitation can emit or absorb waves with a low amplitude which changes the amount of these quantities in the excitation. For statistical reasons, the excitations absorb a high amount of energy per particle through their interaction with low-amplitude waves. They can only move if their energy decreases temporarily either by a random fluctuation or by an external force.

Intermittency as a consequence of turbulent transport in nonlinear systems.

Intermittent high-amplitude structures emerge in a damped and driven discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation whose solutions transport both energy and particles from sources to sinks. These coherent structures are necessary for any solution that has statistically stationary transport properties.

Simple statistical explanation for the localization of energy in nonlinear lattices with two conserved quantities.

The localization of energy in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation is explained with statistical methods. The partition function and the entropy of the system are computed for low-amplitude initial conditions. Detailed predictions for the long-time solution are derived. Localized high-amplitude excitations absorb a surplus of energy when they emerge as a by-product of the production of entropy in the small fluctuations. The thermodynamic interpretation of this process applies to many dynamical systems with two conserved quantities.