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Using the exact breather lattice solution of the sine-Gordon equation, we obtain the asymptotic interaction between two breathers. We identify the exponential dependence of the interaction on the breather separation as well as its power-law dependence on the breather frequency. Numerical simulation of the breather lattice demonstrates its instability. However, stabilization of such structures is found to be feasible through ac driving and damping. Finally, other limits of the original periodic solution are traced, obtaining the leading-order terms in the interaction between "pseudosphere" solutions and kink-antikink pairs.

Localized states in the discrete two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear Schrödinger equation is found: vortex solitons with an integer vorticity S. While Hamiltonian lattices do not conserve angular momentum or the topological invariant related to it, we demonstrate that the soliton's vorticity may be conserved as a dynamical invariant. Linear stability analysis and direct simulations concur in showing that fundamental vortex solitons, with S=1, are stable if the intersite coupling C is smaller than some critical value C((1))(cr). At C>C((1))(cr), an instability sets in through a quartet of complex eigenvalues appearing in the linearized equations. Direct simulations reveal that an unstable vortex soliton with S=1 first splits into two usual solitons with S=0 (in accordance with the prediction of the linear analysis), but then an instability-induced spontaneous symmetry breaking takes place: one of the secondary solitons with S=0 decays into radiation, while the other one survives. We demonstrate that the usual (S=0) 2D solitons in the model become unstable, at C>C((0))(cr) approximately 2.46C((1))(cr), in a different way, via a pair of imaginary eigenvalues omega which bifurcate into instability through omega=0. Except for the lower-energy S=1 solitons that are centered on a site, we also construct ones which are centered between lattice sites which, however, have higher energy than the former. Vortex solitons with S=2 are found too, but they are always unstable. Solitons with S=1 and S=0 can form stable bound states.

The stability of multiple-pulse solutions to the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation is considered. A bound state of widely separated single pulses is rigorously shown to be unstable, unless the phase shift Delta phi between adjacent pulses satisfies Delta phi=pi. This instability is accounted for by positive real eigenvalues in the linearized system. The analysis leading to the instability result does not, however, determine the linear stability of those multiple pulses for which Delta phi=pi between adjacent pulses. A direct variational approach for a two-pulse predicts that it is linearly stable if Delta phi=pi, and if the separation between the individual pulses satisfies a certain condition. The variational approach can easily be generalized to study the stability of N pulses for any N>or=3. The analysis is supplemented with a detailed numerical stability analysis.

In a number of recent papers the so-called twisted localized mode of the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation has been proposed. Herein, we study the existence and stability properties of such modes. We analyze the persistence of quasiperiodic modes and study the domains of existence and numerical stability of the exact form of such solutions. We identify the bifurcations through which they lose their stability and follow the behavior of the intrinsic localized modes and their eigenmodes even in the unstable regime.

The bifurcation of internal solitary wave modes from the essential spectrum has been one of the most exciting recent developments in the study of soliton dynamics. To date, it was believed that the bifurcation of such modes due to discretization has a strict power law dependence on the lattice discreteness parameter. In this work we prove that this dependence actually possesses relevant exponentially small terms which distinguish between different solutions for the discrete models. The theoretical result is established by using a discrete version of the Evans function. The predictions presented herein compare very favorably with the numerical study of the linear eigenvalue problem, and offer explanations of computational effects not possible on the basis of previous theoretical studies.

The consequences of spontaneously broken translational invariance on the nucleation-rate statistical prefactor in theories of first-order phase transitions are analyzed. A hybrid, semiphenomenological approach based on field-theoretic analyses of condensation and modern density-functional theories of nucleation is adopted to provide a unified prescription for the incorporation of translational-invariance corrections to nucleation-rate predictions. A connection between these theories is obtained starting from a quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian and using methods developed in the context of studies on Bose-Einstein condensation. An extremum principle is used to derive an integro-differential equation for the spatially nonuniform mean-field order-parameter profile; the appropriate order parameter becomes the square root of the fluid density. The importance of the attractive intermolecular potential is emphasized, whereas the repulsive two-body potential is approximated by considering hard-sphere collisions. The functional form of the degenerate translational eigenmodes in three dimensions is related to the mean-field order parameter, and their contribution to the nucleation-rate prefactor is evaluated. The solution of the Euler-Lagrange variational equation is discussed in terms of either a proposed variational trial function or the complete numerical solution of the associated boundary-value integro-differential problem. Alternatively, if the attractive potential is not explicitly known, an approach that allows its formal determination from its moments is presented.

Statistical mechanics of the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation is studied by means of analytical and numerical techniques. The lower bound of the Hamiltonian permits the construction of standard Gibbsian equilibrium measures for positive temperatures. Beyond the line of T = infinity, we identify a phase transition through a discontinuity in the partition function. The phase transition is demonstrated to manifest itself in the creation of breatherlike localized excitations. Interrelation between the statistical mechanics and the nonlinear dynamics of the system is explored numerically in both regimes.

We propose a numerical method for identifying localized excitations in discrete nonlinear Schrodinger type models. This methodology, based on the application of a nonlinear iterative version of the Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle yields breather excitations in a very fast and efficient way in one or higher spatial dimensions. The typical convergence properties of the method are found to be super-linear. The usefulness of this technique is illustrated by studying the properties of the recently developed theoretical criteria for the excitation power thresholds for nonlinear modes.

We develop a methodology for the construction of two-dimensional discrete breather excitations. Application to the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation on a square lattice reveals three different types of breathers. Considering an elementary plaquette, the most unstable mode is centered on the plaquette, the most stable mode is centered on its vertices, while the intermediate (but also unstable) mode is centered at the middle of one of the edges. Below the turning points of each branch in a frequency-power phase diagram, the construction methodology fails and a continuation method is used to obtain the unstable branches of the solutions until a triple point is reached. At this triple point, the branches meet and subsequently bifurcate into the final state of an extended phonon mode.