Nonlinear Violence in Nonlinear Oscillations at High Energy

Abstract

This paper focuses on the characteristics of solutions of nonlinear oscillatory systems in the limit of very high oscillation energy, E; specifically, systems, in which the nonlinear driving force grows with energy much faster for x(t) close to the turning point, a(E), than at any position, x(t), that is not too close to a(E). This behavior dominates important aspects of the solutions. It will be called "nonlinear violence". In the vicinity of a turning point, the solution of a nonlinear oscillatory systems that is affected by nonlinear violence exhibits the characteristics of boundary-layer behavior (independently of whether the equation of motion of the system can or cannot be cast in the traditional form of a boundary-layer problem.): close to a(E), x(t) varies very rapidly over a short time interval (which vanishes for E → ∞). In traditional boundary layer systems this would be called the "inner" solution. Outside this interval, x(t) soon evolves into a moderate profile (e.g. linear in time, or constant)-the "outer" solution. In (1 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear energy-conserving oscillators, if the solution is reflection-invariant, nonlinear violence determines the characteristics of the whole solution. For large families of nonlinear oscillatory systems, as E → ∞, the solutions for x(t) tend to common, indistinguishable profiles, such as periodic saw-tooth profiles or step-functions. If such profiles are observed experimentally in high-energy oscillations, it may be difficult to decipher the dynamical equations that govern the motion. The solution of motion in a central field with a non-zero angular momentum exhibits extremely fast rotation around a turning point that is affected by nonlinear violence. This provides an example for the possibility of interesting phenomena in (1 + 2)-dimensional oscillatory systems.