Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Interaction of a kink soliton with a breather in a Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Oklahoma, 440 West Brooks, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA. khomeriki@hotmail.com
Abstract:
The collision process between a breather and moving kink soliton is investigated both analytically and numerically in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) chains. As it is shown by both analytical and numerical consideration low amplitude breathers and soft kinks retain their shapes after interaction. Low amplitude breather only changes the location after collision and remains static. As the numerical simulations show, the shift of its position is proportional to the stiffness of the kink soliton, what is in accordance with the analytical predictions made in this paper. The numerical experiments are also carried out for large amplitude breathers and some interesting effects are observed: The odd parity large amplitude breather does not change position when colliding with a widely separated soft kink-antikink pair, while in the case of a closely placed kink-antikink pair the breather transforms into the moving one. Therefore it is suggested that the "harmless" objects similar to the kink solitons in FPU chains could be used in order to displace or move the strongly localized structures in realistic physical systems. In particular, the analogies with quasi-one-dimensional easy-plane-type spin structures are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Chain Reactions
The de Broglie Wavelength
Standing Waves in a Cavity
Spin–Spin Coupling Constant: Overview
Qualitatively, any spin plus-half nucleus polarizes the spins of its electrons to the minus-half state. Consequently, the paired electron in the hydrogen–carbon bond must have a...
Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Fermi Level Dynamics
Electron affinity in semiconductors refers to the energy gap between the minimum of its conduction band and the vacuum level and it is a critical parameter in determining how easily a semiconductor can accept additional electrons.
The work...

