Depinning of discommensurations for tilted Frenkel-Kontorova chains

Abstract

For an untilted Frenkel-Kontorova chain and any rational $p/q$, Aubry and Mather proved there are minimising equilibrium states that are left- and right-asymptotic to neighbouring pairs of spatially periodic minimisers of type $(p,q)$. They are known as {\em discommensurations} (or kinks or fronts), {\em advancing }if the right-asymptotic equilibrium is to the right of the left-asymptotic one, {\em retreating} otherwise. Following work of Middleton, Floria \& Mazo and Baesens \& MacKay, there is a threshold tilt $F_d(p/q)\ge 0$ up to which there continue to be periodic equilibria of type $(p,q)$ and above which there is a globally attracting periodically sliding solution in the space of sequences of type $(p,q)$. In this paper, we prove that there are values $F_d(p/q\pm)$ of tilt with $0\le F_d(p/q\pm) \le F_d(p/q)$, generically positive and less than $F_d(p/q)$, up to which there continue to be equilibrium advancing or retreating discommensurations, respectively, and such that for $F_d(p/q\pm) < F < F_d(p/q)$ there are periodically sliding discommensurations, apart perhaps from exceptional cases with both a degenerate type $(p,q)$ equilibrium and a degenerate advancing equilibrium discommensuration. We give examples, however, to show that equilibrium and periodically sliding discommensurations may co-exist, both above and below $F_d(p/q\pm)$, so the case of discommensurations is not as clean as that of periodic configurations. On the way, we prove that $F_d(\omega) \to F_d(p/q\pm)$ as $\omega \searrow p/q$ or $\nearrow p/q$ respectively. Finally, we prove that $F_d(p/q\pm)=0$ is equivalent to the existence of a rotational invariant circle consisting of periodic orbits of type $(p,q)$ and right-going (respectively left-going) separatrices, for the corresponding twist map on the cylinder.