Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 1606.07678

On solutions of a Boussinesq-type equation with amplitude-dependent nonlinearities: the case of biomembranes

Abstract

Boussinesq-type wave equations involve nonlinearities and dispersion. In this paper a Boussinesq-type equation with amplitude-dependent nonlinearities is presented. Such a model was proposed by Heimburg and Jackson (2005) for describing longitudinal waves in biomembranes and later improved by Engelbrecht et al. (2015) taking into account the microinertia of a biomembrane. The steady solution in the form of a solitary wave is derived and the influence of nonlinear and dispersive terms over a large range of possible sets of coefficients demonstrated. The solutions emerging from arbitrary initial inputs are found using the numerical simulation. The properties of emerging trains of solitary waves waves are analysed. Finally, the interaction of solitary waves which satisfy the governing equation is studied. The interaction process is not fully elastic and after several interactions radiation effects may be significant. This means that for the present case the solitary waves are not solitons in the strict mathematical sense. However, like in other cases known in solid mechanics, such solutions may be conditionally called solitons.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Jüri Engelbrecht, Kert Tamm, Tanel Peets. 2016-06-24. On solutions of a Boussinesq-type equation with amplitude-dependent nonlinearities: the case of biomembranes. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786435.2017.1283070

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Duck hunting with quantum mechanics

We bridge two sides of singular perturbation theory: the classical theory of slow-fast systems and the semi-classical approach to quantum mechanical systems. For a specific but physically important class of dynamical systems, we show that purely classical and exotic objects, so-called canard solutions, are shadows of instantons in the corresponding quantum system. We demonstrate that canard solutions exist in a domain of parameter space whose boundaries are determined by an instanton action. We illustrate our statements analytically for the relevant example, the overdamped Josephson junction, and confirm them numerically. For the Josephson junction, the canard window is the exponentially narrow gap between consecutive Shapiro steps.

nlin.PS

Rolls and Snaking in a Swift-Hohenberg Equation with Non-smooth Nonlinearity

We study rolls and homoclinic snaking in a variation of the one-dimensional Swift-Hohenberg equation, whose standard forms are prototypical order-parameter models for pattern formation in the sciences. Motivated by classes of differential equation models that involve continuous non-smooth low order nonlinear terms, we replace the standard quadratic-cubic nonlinearity by $ν|u|^α-u^3$, $α\in [1,2]$ with $ν> 0$. In the vicinity of zero, for $α<2$ this nonlinearity falls outside the scope of classical Taylor expansion and bifurcation analysis. Our partially analytical and partially numerical results highlight that the non-smooth term modifies the criticality of pattern-forming bifurcations and alters the associated branches of solutions. In particular, $α\in(1,2)$ implies subcriticality of roll bifurcations for any $ν>0$. At $α=1$ differentiability is lost, which has a strong impact on the bifurcations of sign-changing rolls including the disappearance of homoclinic snaking. Homoclinic snaking thus emerges non-smoothly as $α$ increases from $α=1$, and persists when retaining an additional, e.g., quadratic term.

nlin.PS