STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES OF KINKS AND DOMAIN-WALLS IN NONLINEAR OSCILLATORY LATTICES

Structural properties of self-localized steady-state modes in damped p arametrically driven lattices have been numerically observed. The stat es are kinks, which are localized regions between two standing wave do mains of the same wave number with an offset in spatial phase; and dom ain walls, which are localized regions between two standing wave domai ns of different wave numbers. The properties include preferred definit e symmetry, a wide variety of distinct states, and hysteretic transiti ons that occur along boundaries in the plane of the drive parameters ( amplitude and frequency). The transitions of the localized states exhi bit the spontaneous processes of symmetry reversal and ''complexificat ion,'' as well as the onset of quasiperiodicity and chaos. Simple plau sible models based upon few degrees of freedom fail to correctly descr ibe the instabilities, which indicates that the behavior is a collecti ve phenomenon.