title: Patterns in thin vibrated granular layers: interfaces, hexagons, and superoscillons
abstract: A theoretical and experimental study of patterns in vibrated granular layers is presented. An order parameter model based on the parametric Ginzburg-Landau equation is used to describe strongly nonlinear excitations including hexagons, interfaces between flat antiphase domains, and new localized objects, superoscillons. The experiments confirm the existence of superoscillons and bound states of superoscillons and interfaces. On the basis of the order parameter model we predict analytically and confirm experimentally that additional subharmonic driving results in the controlled motion of interfaces.
authors.affiliation: Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Aranson
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Crabtree
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vinokur
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Tsimring
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Josserand