Charge flipping vortices in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger trimer and hexamer

Quantum signatures of charge flipping vortices in the Bose-Hubbard trimer

In this work we study quantum signatures of charge flipping vortices, found in the classical discrete nonlinear Schrödinger trimer, by use of the Bose-Hubbard model. We are able to identify such signatures in the quantum energy eigenstates, for instance when comparing the site amplitudes of the classical charge flipping vortices with the probability distribution over different particle configurations. It is also discussed how to construct quantum states that correspond to the classical charge flipping vortices and which effects can lead to deviations between the classical and quantum dynamics. We also examine properties of certain coherent states: classical-like quantum states that can be used to derive the classical model. Several quantum signatures are identified when studying the dynamics of these coherent states, for example, when comparing the average number of particles on a site with the classical site amplitude, when comparing the quantum and classical currents and topological charge, and when studying the evolution of the quantum probability amplitudes. The flipping of the quantum currents are found to be an especially robust feature of these states.

Discrete breathers for a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger ring coupled to a central site

We examine the existence and properties of certain discrete breathers for a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger model where all but one site are placed in a ring and coupled to the additional central site. The discrete breathers we focus on are stationary solutions mainly localized on one or a few of the ring sites and possibly also the central site. By numerical methods, we trace out and study the continuous families the discrete breathers belong to. Our main result is the discovery of a split bifurcation at a critical value of the coupling between neighboring ring sites. Below this critical value, families form closed loops in a certain parameter space, implying that discrete breathers with and without central-site occupation belong to the same family. Above the split bifurcation the families split up into several separate ones, which bifurcate with solutions with constant ring amplitudes. For symmetry reasons, the families have different properties below the split bifurcation for even and odd numbers of sites. It is also determined under which conditions the discrete breathers are linearly stable. The dynamics of some simpler initial conditions that approximate the discrete breathers are also studied and the parameter regimes where the dynamics remain localized close to the initially excited ring site are related to the linear stability of the exact discrete breathers.