arXiv:nlin/0101009v1 [nlin.

PS] 3 Jan 2001

NONLINEAR IMPURITY MODES IN

HOMOGENEOUS AND PERIODIC MEDIA

Andrey A. Sukhorukov and Yuri S. Kivshar

Nonlinear Physics Group, RSPhysSE
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
ans124@rsphysse.anu.edu.au, ysk124@rsphysse.anu.edu.au

Abstract We analyze the existence and stability of nonlinear localized waves de-
scribed by the Kronig-Penney model with a nonlinear impurity. We
study the properties of such waves in a homogeneous medium, and then
analyze new effects introduced by periodicity of the medium param-
eters. In particular, we demonstrate the existence of a novel type of
stable nonlinear band-gap localized states, and also reveal an important
physical mechanism of the oscillatory wave instabilities associated with
the band-gap wave resonances.

Keywords: impurity, nonlinearity, linear stability, superlattice, band-gap materials,

photonic crystals

1. INTRODUCTION
Wave propagation in periodic media is associated with many inter-
esting physical phenomena [1, 2]. Modern technology allows to create
different kinds of macro- and mesoscopic periodic and layered structures
such as semiconductor superlattices and heterostructures, magnetic mul-
tilayers possessing the giant magnetoresistance, multiple-quantum-well
structures, optical waveguide arrays, photonic band-gap materials and
photonic crystal fibers, etc. The main feature of different periodic struc-
tures (which follows from the classical Floquet-Bloch theory) is the ex-
istence of forbidden frequency band gaps (or stop bands) where linear
waves undergo Bragg reflection from the periodic structure [1]. However,
many of the recently fabricated periodic structures exhibit pronounced
nonlinear properties that give rise to qualitatively new physical effects
such as multistability of a finite nonlinear periodic medium [3] and en-
ergy localization in the form of gap solitons [4]. Such effects are usually

1
2

analyzed in the framework of the coupled-mode theory [5], and they are
associated with the nonlinearity-dependent tuning of the stop-band as
the wave intensity is increased.
Another fundamental reason for the wave localization is the presence
of impurities. As a matter of fact, artificially introduced inhomogeneities
are often used as a powerful means of controlling wave scattering. How-
ever, the impurity-induced localization in nonlinear and periodic media
is largely an open area of research. We stress that the impurity response
is determined by the local field amplitude, and therefore the standard
averaging procedure can not be directly applied to this kind of problems.
Recent experiments, e.g. the observation of optical gap solitons [6]
and the control of coherent matter waves in optical lattices [7], as well
as theoretical results such as the discovery of the oscillatory instability
of gap solitons [8], call for a systematic analysis of nonlinear effects in
periodic structures and band-gap localized states beyond the approxi-
mation provided by the coupled-mode theory. As we show below, such
an analysis is crucially important for determining stability of nonlinear
waves in periodic structures because the wave instabilities can appear
due to the mode coupling to other bands.
In this paper, we analyze the existence and stability of nonlinear local-
ized waves in a periodic medium with multiple gaps in the transmission
spectrum that is valid beyond the coupled-mode theory. We consider
a simple model where waves are localized in a layered medium by an
intensity-dependent impurity (or, in other words, they are guided by
a thin-layer nonlinear waveguide). Assuming the applicability of our
results to a variety of different physical systems (see below), we char-
acterize, in the framework of a unified and systematic approach, the
properties of two types of nonlinear localized waves [9]. In particular, we
reveal an important physical mechanism of wave instability associated
with the band-gap resonances. We demonstrate also that several types of
stable band-gap localized states can exist in the presence of nonlinearity.

2. GENERAL ANALYSIS
2.1. MODEL EQUATIONS
We consider a general problem in which the dynamics of elementary
excitations of a physical system (e.g., phonon, magnons, etc.) is de-
scribed by an effective equation for the wave-packet envelope ψ(x, t) [10].
When the density of such quasi-particles becomes high enough, their in-
teraction should be taken into account, e.g. in the framework of the
mean-field approximation. In the simplest case, the quasi-particle in-
teraction and collective phenomena in an inhomogeneous medium can
Nonlinear Impurity Modes in Homogeneous and Periodic Media 3

be described by the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation for the wave-

packet envelope ψ(x, t),

∂ψ ∂ 2 ψ
i + + F(I; x)ψ = 0, (1)
∂t ∂x2
where I ≡ |ψ|2 is the wave intensity, t is time (or propagation variable),
x is the spatial coordinate, and the real function F(I; x) describes both
nonlinear and periodic properties of the medium. We note that the
system
R +∞ (1) is Hamiltonian, and for localized solutions the power P =
−∞ I(x) dx is finite, and it is a conserved quantity.
We assume that the superlattice is linear, and nonlinearity appears
only through the intensity dependent response of an embedded localized
impurity. Then, if the corresponding width of the wave envelope is much
larger than that of the impurity, the inhomogeneity can be modeled by
a delta-function and, in the simplest case, we can write

F(I; x) = ν(x) + δ(x)G(I), (2)

where the function G(I) characterizes the properties of the impurity,

and ν(x) ≡ ν(x + h) describes an effective potential of the superlattice
with the spatial period h.
Model (1),(2) appears in different physical problems of the macro-
scopic nonlinear dynamics of solids and nonlinear optical systems. In
particular, it describes a special case of a more general problem of the
existence and stability of nonlinear guided waves in a layered (or strat-
ified) dielectric medium, where the delta-function impurity corresponds
to a very thin layer embedded into a nonlinear medium with a Kerr or
non-Kerr response [11]; in this case the time variable t stands for the
propagation coordinate along the layer, and x is the transverse coordi-
nate. Model (1),(2) can also appear in the problem of the Bose-Einstein
condensation in optical lattices [7].

2.2. LOCALIZED MODES

We study stationary localized solutions of Eq. (1) in the form ψ(x, t) =
u(x)eiωt , where ω is the normalized frequency (or the propagation con-
stant, in optics), and the real function u(x) satisfies the equation:

d2 u
−ωu + + F(I; x)u = 0. (3)
dx2
For a local nonlinearity described by Eq. (2), the localized waves can be
constructed with the help of a matching condition, using the solutions
4

of Eq. (3) with F(I; x) = ν(x), presented in the form of the Bloch-type
wave functions [1].
If the effective periodic potential ν(x) is approximated by a piecewise-
constant function (as in the case of the so-called Kronig-Penney model),
the solution on both sides of the impurity can be decomposed into a pair
of counter-propagating waves with the amplitudes a(x) and b(x),

ub (x) = a(x)e−µ(x)x + b(x)eµ(x)x ,

p
where µ(x) = ω − ν(x) is the local wavenumber. As follows from the
Floquet-Bloch theory, for a Bloch-wave solution the reflection coefficient
r(x) = b(x)/a(x) is a periodic function, i.e. r(x) = r(x + h), and it is
found from the following eigenvalue problem:

1 1
   
T (x) = τ (x) , (4)
r(x) r(x)

where T (x) is a transfer matrix that describes a change of the wave am-
plitudes {a, b} after one period (x, x + h). An explicit expression for the
transfer matrix can be found in Ref. [12], where it was also proven that
det T ≡ 1, and two linearly independent solutions of Eq. (4) correspond
to a pair of the eigenvalues τ and τ −1 . Relation τ (ω) determines a band-
gap structure of the superlattice spectrum: the waves are propagating, if
|τ | = 1, and they are localized, if |τ | =
6 1. In the latter case, a nonlinear
impurity can support nonlinear localized waves, and the wave amplitude
at the impurity is determined from the continuity condition [12] at x = 0
[I0 ≡ I(0)]:
G0 ≡ G(I0 ) = ζ(ω). (5)

−1
Here ζ = (ζ + + ζ − )x=0 , ζ ± = µ± (1 − r ± )(1 + r ± ) , and we denote with
“+” and “−” the lattice characteristics on the right and the left side of
the nonlinear impurity, respectively, i.e. ν(x) = ν + (|x|), for x > 0, and
ν(x) = ν − (|x|), for x < 0. Note that the reflection coefficients should
correspond to the Bloch-wave solutions with the asymptotics |u(x →
±∞)| → 0.
Relation (5) allows us to identify different types of nonlinear local-
ized states. We notice that such localized states, being supported by
an attractive nonlinear impurity (G0 > 0), exist in the so-called waveg-
uiding regime, when ζ(ω) > 0. Additionally, localization can occur at
a repulsive nonlinear impurity (G0 < 0) in the anti-waveguiding regime,
provided ζ(ω) < 0.
Nonlinear Impurity Modes in Homogeneous and Periodic Media 5

2.3. STABILITY PROPERTIES

To study the linear stability, we consider the evolution of small-
amplitude perturbations of the localized state presenting the solution
in the form
n o
ψ(x, t) = u(x) + v(x)eiγt + w∗ (x)e−iγ
∗t
eiωt ,
and obtain the linear eigenvalue problem for v(x) and w(x),
d2 v
−(ω + γ)v + + ν(x)v + δ(x) [G1 v + (G1 − G0 )w] = 0,
dx2 (6)
d2 w
−(ω − γ)w + + ν(x)w + δ(x) [G1 w + (G1 − G0 )v] = 0,
dx2
where G1 ≡ G0 + I0 G′ (I0 ), the intensity I0 is calculated for an unper-
turbed solution, and the prime stands for the derivative.
We find that the localized eigenmode solutions of Eq. (6) exist only for
the particular eigenvalues satisfying the solvability condition, Y (γ) = 0,
where Y (γ) is the so-called Evans function,
Y (γ) = [G1 − ζ(ω + γ)] [G1 − ζ(ω − γ)] − (G1 − G0 )2 .
In general, the localized eigenmodes fall into one of the following cate-
gories: (i) internal modes with real eigenvalues describe periodic oscil-
lations (“breathing”) of the localized state, (ii) instability modes corre-
spond to purely imaginary eigenvalues, and (iii) oscillatory instabilities
can occur when the eigenvalues are complex. To conduct the further
analysis in more details, we need to know the properties of the wave spec-
trum defined by the type of a linear (homogeneous or periodic) medium.

3. IMPURITY-INDUCED LOCALIZATION
IN A HOMOGENEOUS MEDIUM
In order to provide a link with earlier studies, first we apply the gen-
eral analytical technique to describe the properties of nonlinear impu-
rity modes in a homogeneous
√ medium, i.e. when ν(x) ≡ 0. In this
case, we have µ = ω, and the Bloch-type solutions correspond to non-
interacting counter-propagating waves, with constant values of a(x) and
b(x). Therefore, we have r ± ≡ 0, ζ ± = 2µ, and τ ± = e−µh . Then, the
condition |τ | =
6 1 reduces to a simple relation ω > 0, so that µ is real,
which means that wave localization is possible due to the total internal
reflection (IR) only.
To demonstrate the basic properties of the IR mode, we consider a
localized impurity possessing a cubic nonlinear response,
G(I) = α + βI.
6

Figure 1. Top: power vs. frequency dependences for the localized waves in a
linear homogeneous medium; inset shows the wave profile corresponding to a marked
point. Bottom: real eigenvalue corresponding to the internal mode. White and gray
backgrounds mark the band gap and band, respectively. The impurity characteristics
are α = 0.5 and β = 1.

Under the proper scaling, the absolute value of the nonlinear coefficient β
can be normalized to unity, so that β = +1 corresponds to self-focusing,
and β = −1 to self-defocusing nonlinearity. Localization depends also on
the sign of the linear coefficient α, which defines the impurity response
at small intensities: attractive, if α > 0, and repulsive, otherwise. In this
case, the matching condition (5) can be readily solved, and we obtain
an explicit solution for the profile of the localized waves,
√ 1 √
u(x) = u0 e− ω|x|
, u20 = (2 ω − α),
β
√
and find the corresponding expression for the power, P (ω) = u20 / ω.
We can also present the Evans function in a simple form,
√ √
Y (γ) = 2(η − 2 ω)(η − 2 ω + α), (7)
√ √
where η = ω + γ + ω − γ, and the square root values are taken on a
branch with a positive real part.
Our analysis shows that the localized modes can exist in the pres-
ence of self-defocusing nonlinearity (β < 0) only for α > 0. Then,
the family of localized solutions bifurcates from the linear limit at
the cut-off frequency ωb = α2 /4, with P (ωb ) = 0, and exists for
Nonlinear Impurity Modes in Homogeneous and Periodic Media 7

0 < ω < ωb . It is straightforward to check that the equation Y (γ) = 0,

for the Evans function given by Eq. (7), has √ solutions only in the triv-
ial case√ γ = 0 (corresponding
√ to η = 2 ω), since a formal solution
√
η = (2 ω − α) = 2( ω − ωb ) is negative, and thus it can not corre-
spond to any γ. Therefore, the nonlinear states supported by a nonlin-
early repulsive impurity are stable.
In the case of self-focusing nonlinearity (β > 0), the modes appear
above the frequency cut-off, ω > ωb , if α > 0, and they exist √ for ω > 0,
provided
√ α < 0. Non-trivial linear eigenvalues exist if ω > α/(2
√ −
2), and
√ they are given by the following expression, γ = ±2( ω−
α/2)[α( ω−α/4)]1/2 . It then follows that γ is imaginary, and the modes
are unstable, if α < 0, and stable if α > 0, when γ is real. We would
like to note that for the self-focusing nonlinearity the mode stability can
also be determined using the Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion [13], which
states that the modes are stable, if dP/dω > 0, and unstable, otherwise.
Indeed, the slope of the dependence P (ω) is always positive if α > 0, as
illustrated in Fig. 1.

4. IMPURITY-INDUCED LOCALIZATION
IN A PERIODIC SUPERLATTICE
We now consider the properties of the localized waves supported by
an impurity with a self-focusing nonlinearity (β = +1), and attractive
linear response (α > 0), in a two-component superlattice. Due to a peri-
odic modulation of the effective potential, ν(x), such a lattice possesses
several band gaps, as demonstrated in Fig. 2 (top).
The first (semi-infinite) band gap exists due to the internal reflec-
tion (IR) and, therefore, the properties of the corresponding localized
waves should be similar to those existing in a homogeneous medium.
Indeed, we find that the localized states in the IR band gap resemble
conventional impurity modes (or solitary waves) modulated by a peri-
odic structure [see Fig. 2(b)], and these states exist above the cut-off
(IR)
frequency ωb defined by the equality ζ(ωb ) = α. Since such an IR
wave is a fundamental eigenstate of the self-induced waveguide, it can
be demonstrated that the conditions of the Vakhitov-Kolokolov (VK)
stability theorem [13] are satisfied, and the IR states are unstable if and
only if dP/dω < 0. The critical point dP/dω = 0 corresponds to a
“collision” between two internal modes of the localized wave at the ori-
gin, as illustrated in Fig. 2 (middle). It is interesting to note that the
high-frequency localized waves can become unstable in a periodic su-
perlattice, although they are linearly stable when a nonlinear impurity
8

with similar characteristics is embedded in a homogeneous medium (cf.

Figs. 1 and 2).
Additional band gaps appear at lower frequencies due to the resonant
Bragg-type reflection (BR) from a periodic structure. The corresponding
localized waves exist in the waveguiding regime (white regions in Fig. 2,
(BR) (BR)
top), above the cut-off frequencies ωb , where again ζ(ωb ) = α.
Such localized solutions are somewhat similar to the gap solitons com-
posed of mutually coupled backward and forward propagating waves [see
Fig. 2(a)]. For the BR states, the VK criterion provides only a neces-

Figure 2. Top: power vs. frequency dependences for the localized waves: solid —
stable, dashed — unstable, and dotted — oscillatory unstable. Middle: real (dotted)
and imaginary (solid) parts of the eigenvalues associated with the wave instability.
Shading marks “waveguiding” (white) and “anti-waveguiding” (dotted) localization
regimes inside the band gaps. Bottom: the localized states corresponding to the
marked points (a,b) in the top plot; shading marks the areas with smaller ν. The
lattice parameters are h = 1, ν(x) = 0 for n − 1/2 < x/h < n, and ν(x) = 30 for
n < x/h < n + 1/2, where n is integer. The impurity characteristics are α = 0.5 and
β = 1.
Nonlinear Impurity Modes in Homogeneous and Periodic Media 9

Figure 3. An example of a resonance that occurs between an internal mode of the

localized wave and a bang-gap edge, leading to an oscillatory instability.

sary condition for stability. Indeed, we notice that in the linear limit
there always exists an internal mode corresponding  to a resonant  cou-
(IR) (BR)
pling between the BR and IR band-gaps, since Y ωb − ω b ≡ 0.
We perform extensive numerical calculations and find that this mode
leads to an oscillatory instability of BR waves when the value (ω − Re γ)
moves outside the band gap; it happens when the intensity exceeds a
threshold value (see Figs. 2 and 3).

5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
We have analyzed the existence and stability of nonlinear localized
waves in one-dimensional periodic structures (or superlattices) consid-
ering the simplest nonlinear generalization of the Kronig-Penney model
with a nonlinear impurity. Taking into account many common features
of nonlinear guided waves and impurity modes in stratified and dis-
ordered media, on one side, and the self-trapped states and solitary
waves in homogeneous nonlinear media, on the other side, we expect
that many of the results described above will be found in more realis-
tic physical models of nonlinear periodic media. Such cases include the
electron self-trapping and locking states in cuprates and semiconductor
superlattices [14]; nonlinear guided waves in optical superlattices [15];
impurity modes in photonic band-gap materials [16], magneto-optical
periodic structures [17], and photonic crystal fibers [18]; coherent mat-
10

ter waves in optical lattices [19], etc. In particular, stability of nonlinear

localized impurity modes is a crucial issue for creating tunable band-gap
materials where gaps could be controlled by changing the input light
intensity.
We are indebted to O. Bang for useful collaboration at the initial
stage of this project. The work has been partially supported by the
Performance and Planning Fund of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

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