Evidence for solitons in hydrogen-bonded systems

Wobbling kinks in varphi(4) theory

We present a uniform asymptotic expansion of the wobbling kink to any order in the amplitude of the wobbling mode. The long-range behavior of the radiation is described by matching the asymptotic expansions in the far field and near the core of the kink. The complex amplitude of the wobbling mode is shown to obey a simple ordinary differential equation with nonlinear damping. We confirm the t(-1/2)-decay law for the amplitude, which was previously obtained on the basis of energy considerations.

Disproportionation of Pyrazine in NH+···N Hydrogen-Bonded Complexes: New Materials of Exceptional Dielectric Response

Centrosymmetric pyrazinium NH+...N bonded complexes allow their dielectric properties to be analyzed separately from the bulk ferroelectric polarization observed in the noncentrosymmetric DABCO monosalts. The method of dielectric permittivity measurements has been employed for monitoring polarization fluctuations generated by proton transfers in the NH+...N bonded linear polycations. The revealed dielectric response of [C4H5N2]+BF4- and [C4H5N2]+ClO4- cannot be reconciled with the centrosymmetric symmetry of their structures, but suggests formation of polar defects or nanoregions. Unique transformations of the pyrazine [C4H5N2]+BF4- complex between linear NH+...N hydrogen-bonded polycationic aggregates antiparallel in phase gamma, perpendicular chains in phase beta, and with NH+...N bonds broken in phase alpha have been observed. The [C4H5N2]+ClO4- and [C4H5N2]+BF4- complexes as grown at 290 K are isostructural in orthorhombic phase , space group Pbcm, with linear polycationic chains arranged antiparallel. On heating, the tetrafluoroborate and perchlorate salts each undergoes two first-order phase transitions at similar temperatures about 340-360 K, while on cooling only one phase transition has been observed. An extremely unique sequence of two phase transitions subsequently lowering the symmetry of the [C4H5N2]+BF4- crystal when temperature is increased has been evidenced: the orthorhombic phase heated above 343 K transforms into the monoclinic C2/c-symmetric phase beta, in which the NH+...N bonded linear chains assume perpendicular arrangement; and at about 353-357 K the anions and cations adopt a typical ionic-crystal packing without homonuclear NH+...N hydrogen bonds in a still lower-symmetry monoclinic P21/n-symmetric structure. The exceptional perpendicular arrangement of the linear NH+...N bonded chains in phase beta constitutes a unique system where polarization of small regions can assume various orientations within a plane, depending on the H+ sites. No phase transitions or anomalous dielectric response were observed in the NH+...O bonded [C4H5N2]+NO3- complex. The unprecedented structure-property relations of the pyrazinium complexes fully confirm the role of the NH+...N bond transformations for the dielectric response of analogous DABCO ferroelectrics.

Discrete kink dynamics in hydrogen-bonded chains: the two-component model

We study discrete topological solitary waves (kinks and antikinks) in two nonlinear diatomic chain models that describe the collective dynamics of proton transfers in one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded networks. The essential ingredients of the models are (i) a realistic (anharmonic) ion-proton interaction in the hydrogen bond, (ii) a harmonic coupling between the protons in adjacent hydrogen bonds, and (iii) a harmonic coupling between the nearest-neighbor heavy ions (an isolated diatomic chain with the lowest acoustic band) or instead a harmonic on-site potential for the heavy ions (a diatomic chain subject to a substrate with two optical bands), both providing a bistability of the hydrogen-bonded proton. Exact two-component (kink and antikink) discrete solutions for these models are found numerically. We compare the soliton solutions and their properties in both the one- (when the heavy ions are fixed) and two-component models. The effect of stability switchings, discovered previously for a class of one-component kink-bearing models, is shown to exist in these two-component models as well. However, the presence of the second component, i.e., the softness of the heavy-ion sublattice, brings principal differences, like a significant difference in the stability switchings behavior for the kinks and the antikinks. Water-filled carbon nanotubes are briefly discussed as possible realistic systems, where topological discrete (anti)kink states might exist.

Collective proton transport with weak proton-proton coupling

A mechanism based on the peculiar dynamical properties of the hydrogen bond is suggested to describe fast proton transfers in hydrogen-bonded chains with realistic (weak) intersite proton-proton interactions. For this purpose, a two-sublattice model is suggested and studied analytically that admits an exact soliton solution. The solitons, which are topological objects (kinks and antikinks) on the one hand, but dynamical entities (like Boussinesq solitons) on the other hand, are shown to have a sufficiently large width to allow free propagation along the chain.