Experimental and numerical exploration of intrinsic localized modes in an atomic lattice

This review focuses attention on the experimental studies of intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) produced in driven atomic lattices. Production methods involve the application of modulational instability under carefully controlled conditions. One experimental approach is to drive the atomic lattice far from equilibrium to produce ILMs, the second is to apply a driver of only modest strength but nearby in frequency to a plane wave mode so that a slow transformation from large amplitude standing waves to ILMs takes place. Since, in either case, the number of ILMs produced is small, the experimental observation tool appropriate for this task is four-wave mixing. This nonlinear detection technique makes use of the nonlinearity associated with an ILM to enhance its signal over that produced by the more numerous, but linear, spin waves. The final topic deals with numerical simulations of a nonlinear nanoscale atomic lattice where the new feature is running ILMs.