title: Nonlinear supratransmission and bistability in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model.
abstract: The recently discovered phenomenon of nonlinear supratransmission consists in a sudden increase of the amplitude of a transmitted wave triggered by the excitation of nonlinear localized modes of the medium. We examine this process for the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain, sinusoidally driven at one edge and damped at the other. The supratransmission regime occurs for driving frequencies above the upper band edge and originates from direct moving discrete breather creation. We derive approximate analytical estimates of the supratransmission threshold, which are in excellent agreement with numerics. When analyzing the long-time behavior, we discover that, below the supratransmission threshold, a conducting stationary state coexists with the insulating one. We explain the bistable nature of the energy flux in terms of the excitation of quasiharmonic extended waves. This leads to the analytical calculation of a lower-transmission threshold which is also in reasonable agreement with numerical experiments.
authors.affiliation: Tbilisi State University, 3 Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi 380028, Republic of Georgia. khomeriki@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ramaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khomeriki
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lepri
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruffo