We investigate the modulational instability of uniform wavepackets governed by the discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation in finite linear chains and square lattices. We show that, while the critical nonlinear coupling χMI above which modulational instability occurs remains finite in square lattices, it decays as 1/L in linear chains. In square lattices, there is a direct transition between the regime of stable uniform wavefunctions and the regime of asymptotically localized solutions with stationary probability distributions. On the other hand, there is an intermediate regime in linear chains for which the wavefunction dynamics develops complex breathing patterns. We analytically compute the critical nonlinear strengths for modulational instability in both lattices, as well as the characteristic time τ governing the exponential increase of perturbations in the vicinity of the transition. We unveil that the interplay between modulational instability and self-trapping phenomena is responsible for the distinct wavefunction dynamics in linear and square lattices.
In this paper, we investigate the in°uence of electron-lattice interaction on the stability of uniform electronic wavepackets on chains as well as on several types of fullerenes. We will use an e®ective nonlinear Schr€ odinger equation to mimic the electron-phonon coupling in these topologies. By numerically solving the nonlinear dynamic equation for an initially uniform electronic wavepacket, we show that the critical nonlinear coupling above which it becomes unstable continuously decreases with the chain size. On the other hand, the critical nonlinear strength saturates on a¯nite value in large fullerene buckyballs. We also provide analytical arguments to support these¯ndings based on a modulational instability analysis.
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