Neighbor Coupling Research Articles

Nearest neighbour coupling for synchronization of coupled nonlinear systems

Nearest neighbour coupling for synchronization of coupled nonlinear systems

Local-to-non-local transition laws for stiffness-tuneable monoatomic chains preserving springs mass.

Recently, non-local configurations have been proposed by adding beyond nearest neighbour couplings among elements in lattices to obtain roton-like dispersion relations and phase and group velocities with opposite signs. Even though the introduction of non-local elastic links in metamaterials has unlocked unprecedented possibilities, literature models and prototypes seem neither to provide criteria to compare local and non-local lattices nor to discuss any related rules governing the transition between the two configurations. A physically reasonable principle that monoatomic one-dimensional chains must obey to pass from single- to multi-connected systems is here proposed through a mass conservation law for elastic springs thereby introducing a suitable real dimensionless parameter [Formula: see text] to tune stiffness distribution. Therefore, the dispersion relations as a function of [Formula: see text] and of the degree of non-locality [Formula: see text] are derived analytically, demonstrating that the proposed principle can be rather interpreted as a general mechanical consistency condition to preserve proper dynamics, involving the spring-to-bead mass ratio. Finally, after discussing qualitative results and deriving some useful inequalities, numerical simulations and two-dimensional FFTs are performed for some paradigmatic examples to highlight key dynamics features exhibited by chains with finite length as the parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] vary.This article is part of the theme issue 'Current developments in elastic and acoustic metamaterials science (Part 2)'.

Rogue and solitary waves of a system of coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations in a left-handed transmission line with second-neighbors coupling

The effects of the second-order neighbor interaction have been effective on the coherent localized waves and modulation instability spectrum. A coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived in the nonlinear left-handed electrical lattice, and the linear stability is used to formulate the modulation instability spectrum expression. Unstable modes are displayed to show symmetric lobes and increasing bandwidths under the influence of the neighbor coupling. The Benjamin-Feir instability has prospered in the network, and for weak perturbed wave numbers, the unstable modes increase. The numerical simulation is used to develop localized waves, including rogue waves with one crest and two humps, Akhmediev breathers, and other modulated structures. We notice that, for strong values of the perturbed wave number, an exponential growth of the continuous wave arises to confirm the fact that the nonlinear left-handed electrical lattice with coupling strength is opened to coherent localized waves. The long-lived nature of the obtained structures has also been demonstrated for specific times of propagation.

Strain-tuned incompatible magnetic exchange-interaction in La2NiO4

Magnetic frustration is a route for novel ground states, including spin liquids and spin ices. Such frustration can be introduced through either lattice geometry or incompatible exchange interactions. Here, we find that epitaxial strain is an effective tool for tuning antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in a square-lattice system. By studying the magnon excitations in La2NiO4 films using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we show that the magnon displays substantial dispersion along the antiferromagnetic zone boundary, at energies that depend on the lattice of the film’s substrate. Using first principles simulations and an effective spin model, we demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbour coupling is a consequence of the two-orbital nature of La2NiO4. Altogether, we illustrate that compressive epitaxial strain enhances this coupling and, as a result, increases the level of incompatibility between exchange interactions within a model square-lattice system.

Unconventional edge states in a two-leg ladder

Some popular mechanisms for restricting the diffusion of waves include introducing disorder (to provoke Anderson localization) and engineering topologically non-trivial phases (to allow for topological edge states to form). However, other methods for inducing somewhat localized states in elementary lattice models have been historically much less studied. Here we show how edge states can emerge within a simple two-leg ladder of coupled harmonic oscillators, where it is important to include interactions beyond those at the nearest neighbor range. Remarkably, depending upon the interplay between the coupling strength along the rungs of the ladder and the next-nearest neighbor coupling strength along one side of the ladder, edge states can indeed appear at particular energies. In a wonderful manifestation of a type of bulk-edge correspondence, these edge state energies correspond to the quantum number for which additional stationary points appear in the continuum bandstructure of the equivalent problem studied with periodic boundary conditions. Our theoretical results are relevant to a swathe of classical or quantum lattice model simulators, such that the proposed edge states may be useful for applications including waveguiding in metamaterials and quantum transport.

NDNet: Spacewise Multiscale Representation Learning via Neighbor Decoupling for Real-Time Driving Scene Parsing.

As a safety-critical application, autonomous driving requires high-quality semantic segmentation and real-time performance for deployment. Existing method commonly suffers from information loss and massive computational burden due to high-resolution input-output and multiscale learning scheme, which runs counter to the real-time requirements. In contrast to channelwise information modeling commonly adopted by modern networks, in this article, we propose a novel real-time driving scene parsing framework named NDNet from a novel perspective of spacewise neighbor decoupling (ND) and neighbor coupling (NC). We first define and implement the reversible operations called ND and NC, which realize lossless resolution conversion for complementary thumbnails sampling and collation to facilitate spatial modeling. Based on ND and NC, we further propose three modules, namely, local capturer and global dependence builder (LCGB), spacewise multiscale feature extractor (SMFE), and high-resolution semantic generator (HSG), which form the whole pipeline of NDNet. The LCGB serves as a stem block to preprocess the large-scale input for fast but lossless resolution reduction and extract initial features with global context. Then the SMFE is used for dense feature extraction and can obtain rich multiscale features in spatial dimension with less computational overhead. As for high-resolution semantic output, the HSG is designed for fast resolution reconstruction and adaptive semantic confusion amending. Experiments show the superiority of the proposed method. NDNet achieves the state-of-the-art performance on the Cityscapes dataset which reports 76.47% mIoU at 240+ frames/s and 78.8% mIoU at 150+ frames/s on the benchmark. Codes are available at https://github.com/LiShuTJ/NDNet.

Weak synaptic connections may facilitate spiral wave formation under source-sink interactions

This study explores the interaction between two distinct sites, termed the source and the sink, to analyze the possibility of spiral wave formation. To this aim, a grid of memristive FitzHugh–Nagumo elements is designed to simulate biological excitable media, such as the myocardium. The source, characterized by high excitation levels with a gradual increase in the recovery variable, is primed to generate an excitatory wavefront. In contrast, the sink remains quiescent in excitation yet elevated in the recovery state, thus tending to absorb excitation as it is temporarily unexcitable but soon recoverable. Existing literature on spiral wave formation primarily focuses on rotor formation under source–sink adjacency. This work, on the other hand, examines the potential for re-entrant behavior under spatial separation between the source and the sink. Within the context of eight-nearest neighbor coupling, the results indicate that the time delay for the excitation wave to reach the refractory state of the sink, due to the increased distance, may still facilitate re-entry if the intensity of connections is sufficiently weak. However, beyond a certain threshold of the source–sink distance under weak connections, wave breakage may occur without resulting in re-entry. For the birth of a spiral wave rotor, the tip of the excitatory wavefront must converge with its refractory back, specifically at the outermost contour in the final stage of refractoriness, referred to as the wavetail. The formation of a spiral rotor cannot arise from a wavefront encountering any site earlier in the stage of refractoriness.

Inerter-controlled topological interface states in locally resonant lattices with beyond-nearest neighbor coupling

This paper explores the emergence of topological interface states in one-dimensional locally resonant lattices incorporating inerters in both nearest neighbor (NN) and beyond-nearest neighbor (BNN) coupling. The investigation focuses on the unique wave propagation characteristics of these lattices, particularly the presence and behavior of interface states. The non-trivial topological behavior due to broken inversion symmetry within the unit cell of the locally resonant lattice is comprehensively investigated in the presence of inerters in NN and BNN coupling. The emerging interface states in the supercell analysis exhibit specific spatial and frequency localization properties due to inerter-based BNN interactions. Additionally, the study demonstrates the ability of inerter elements with weak inertance to control the frequency of interface states while maintaining the fundamental topological properties of the lattice. The identified topological interface states in lattices with BNN coupling present an opportunity for designing diverse devices, such as waveguides, filters, sensors, and energy harvesting systems. Overall, this research enhances our comprehension of topological phenomena in inerter-based locally resonant lattices with BNN interactions and introduces possibilities for creating robust and versatile devices based on topologically protected edge/interface states.

Non-Hermitian topology and criticality in photonic arrays with engineered losses

Integrated photonic systems provide a flexible platform where artificial lattices can be engineered in a reconfigurable fashion. Here, we show that one-dimensional photonic arrays with engineered losses allow the realization of topological excitations stemming from non-Hermiticity and bulk mode criticality. We show that a generalized modulation of the local photonic losses allows the creation of topological modes both in the presence of periodicity and even in the quasiperiodic regime. We demonstrate that a localization transition of all the bulk photonic modes can be engineered in the presence of a quasiperiodic loss modulation, and we further demonstrate that such a transition can be created in the presence of both resonance frequency modulation and loss modulation. We finally address the robustness of this phenomenology to the presence of next to the nearest neighbor couplings and disorder in the emergence of criticality and topological modes. Our results put forward a strategy to engineer topology and criticality solely from engineered losses in a photonic system, establishing a potential platform to study the impact of nonlinearities in topological and critical photonic matter. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Emergence of chimera states in neural networks with distance-dependent mean field coupling

The emergence of chimera states in neural networks has been an interesting area of research in the past few years and aims to explore the complex brain functions. Even though the presence of chimera states in systems with nonlocal interaction is well known, its emergence in networks with global and local interactions is least explored. Different techniques like introducing distance dependent interactions and restricting initial conditions to certain classes are adopted to induce chimera states in such network. This work analyzes methods to induce chimera or multichimera states in a network of mean field coupled Hindmarsh–Rose neurons in ring topology. The interaction schemes in the network, viz., global, nonlocal and local are realized by limiting the number of neurons involved in coupling and the power law exponent gives a distance gradient effect to them. The studies have shown that, in global interaction, power law exponent induces chimera states and reduces the amount of synchrony in the network. The nonlocal coupling is self-capable of inducing chimera states and power law exponent enhances the capability. When the value of power law exponent is high, the synchrony level is independent of the number of neurons taking part in the coupling. The traveling chimera states are induced in the local (nearest neighbor) coupling by modifying the initial conditions.

Critical scaling of a two-orbital topological model with extended neighboring couplings

Extended-range models are the interesting systems, which has been widely used to understand the non-local properties of the fermions at quantum scale. We aim to study the interplay between criticality and extended range couplings under various symmetry constraints. Here, we consider a two orbital Bernevig–Hughes–Zhang model in one dimension with longer (finite neighbor) and long-range (infinite neighbor) couplings. We study the behavior of model using scaling laws and universality class for models with Hermitian, parity-time (PT\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mathscr{P}\\mathscr{T}$$\\end{document}) symmetric and broken time-reversal symmetries. We observe the interesting results on multi-criticalities, where the universality class of critical exponent is different than the normal criticalities. Also, the results can be generalized by considering the interplay between criticalities and different symmetry classes of Hamiltonian. Also, with the introduction of extended-range of coupling, there occurs different criticalities, and we provide the analogy to characterize their universality classes. We also show the violation of Lorentz invariance at multi-criticalities and evaluation of short-range limit in long-range models as the highlights of this work.

Emergent symmetry in quantum phase transition: From deconfined quantum critical point to gapless quantum spin liquid

The emergence of exotic quantum phenomena in frustrated magnets is rapidly driving the development of quantum many-body physics, raising fundamental questions on the nature of quantum phase transitions. Here we unveil the behaviour of emergent symmetry involving two extraordinarily representative phenomena, i.e., the deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) and the quantum spin liquid (QSL) state. Via large-scale tensor network simulations, we study a spatially anisotropic spin-1/2 square-lattice frustrated antiferromagnetic (AFM) model, namely the J1x-J1y-J2 model, which contains anisotropic nearest-neighbor couplings J1x,J1y and the next nearest neighbor coupling J2. For small J1y/J1x, by tuning J2, a direct continuous transition between the AFM and valence bond solid phase is observed. With growing J1y/J1x, a gapless QSL phase gradually emerges between the AFM and VBS phases. We observe an emergent O(4) symmetry along the AFM–VBS transition line, which is consistent with the prediction of DQCP theory. Most surprisingly, we find that such an emergent O(4) symmetry holds for the whole QSL–VBS transition line as well. These findings reveal the intrinsic relationship between the QSL and DQCP from categorical symmetry point of view, and strongly constrain the quantum field theory description of the QSL phase. The phase diagram and critical exponents presented in this paper are of direct relevance to future experiments on frustrated magnets and cold atom systems.

Synchronization in collectively moving inanimate and living active matter

Whether one considers swarming insects, flocking birds, or bacterial colonies, collective motion arises from the coordination of individuals and entails the adjustment of their respective velocities. In particular, in close confinements, such as those encountered by dense cell populations during development or regeneration, collective migration can only arise coordinately. Yet, how individuals unify their velocities is often not understood. Focusing on a finite number of cells in circular confinements, we identify waves of polymerizing actin that function as a pacemaker governing the speed of individual cells. We show that the onset of collective motion coincides with the synchronization of the wave nucleation frequencies across the population. Employing a simpler and more readily accessible mechanical model system of active spheres, we identify the synchronization of the individuals’ internal oscillators as one of the essential requirements to reach the corresponding collective state. The mechanical ‘toy’ experiment illustrates that the global synchronous state is achieved by nearest neighbor coupling. We suggest by analogy that local coupling and the synchronization of actin waves are essential for the emergent, self-organized motion of cell collectives.

The classical Heisenberg model on the centred pyrochlore lattice

The centred pyrochlore lattice is a novel geometrically frustrated lattice, realized in the metal-organic framework Mn(ta)_22 [Phys. Rev. Research 5, L022018 (2023)] where the basic unit of spins is a five site centred tetrahedron. Here, we present an in-depth theoretical study of the J_1-J_2J1−J2 classical Heisenberg model on this lattice, using a combination of mean-field analytical methods and Monte Carlo simulations. We find a rich phase diagram with low temperature states exhibiting ferrimagnetic order, partial ordering, and a highly degenerate spin liquid with distinct regimes of low temperature correlations. We discuss in detail how the regime displaying broadened pinch points in its spin structure factor is consistent with an effective description in terms of a fluid of interacting charges. We also show how this picture holds in two dimensions on the analogous centred kagome lattice and elucidate the connection to the physics of thin films in (d+1d+1) dimensions. Furthermore, we show that a Coulomb phase can be stabilized on the centred pyrochlore lattice by the addition of further neighbour couplings. This demonstrates the centred pyrochlore lattice is an experimentally relevant geometry which naturally hosts emergent gauge fields in the presence of charges at low energies.

Modulation instability and modulated wave patterns in a nonlinear electrical transmission line with the next-nearest-neighbor coupling

In this paper, we investigate modulation instability and solitary waves in a one-dimensional nonlinear electrical transmission line with second-neighbor interactions. Through the quasi-discrete multiple scale method, we derive coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations. To investigate the modulation instability in the structure, we use the linear stability analysis, and an expression for the modulation instability spectrum is derived. From the analytical investigation, we show that the second neighbor coupling affects both the modulation instability growth rate and modulation instability bands. Furthermore, we show via single and coupled mode excitation that bright and dark solitary waves can propagate at the lower and upper cutoff frequencies. To evaluate the robustness of the analytical investigation, we use a direct numerical simulation of the continuous wave. We conclude that the second-neighbor couplings generate rogue waves in the structure during the long-time evolution of the plane wave. We also demonstrate that with a variation of the excitation wave number, the nonlinear electrical transmission line can support new objects as wave molecules for high values of the wave number. This feature is not yet observed in nonlinear electrical transmission lines and will be useful in many fields of physics.

CrRhAs: a member of a large family of metallic kagome antiferromagnets

Kagome lattice materials are an important platform for highly frustrated magnetism as well as for a plethora of phenomena resulting from flat bands, Dirac cones and van Hove singularities in their electronic structures. We study the little known metallic magnet CrRhAs, which belongs to a vast family of materials that includes 3d, 4f, and 5f magnetic elements, as well as numerous nonmagnetic metals and insulators. Using noncollinear spin density functional calculations (mostly spin spirals), we extract a model magnetic Hamiltonian for CrRhAs. While it is dominated by an antiferromagnetic second nearest neighbor coupling in the kagome plane, the metallic nature of the compound leads to numerous nonzero longer range couplings and to important ring exchange terms. We analyze this Hamiltonian and find unusual ground states which are dominated by nearly isolated antiferromagnetic triangles that adopt 120∘ order either with positive or with negative vector chirality. We discuss the connection to the few known experimental facts about CrRhAs. Finally, we give a brief survey of other interesting magnetic members of this family of kagome compounds.

Robust beam splitter with fast quantum state transfer through a topological interface

The Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model, commonly used for robust state transfers through topologically protected edge pumping, has been generalized and exploited to engineer diverse functional quantum devices. Here, we propose to realize a fast topological beam splitter based on a generalized SSH model by accelerating the quantum state transfer (QST) process essentially limited by adiabatic requirements. The scheme involves delicate orchestration of the instantaneous energy spectrum through exponential modulation of nearest neighbor coupling strengths and onsite energies, yielding a significantly accelerated beam splitting process. Due to properties of topological pumping and accelerated QST, the beam splitter exhibits strong robustness against parameter disorders and losses of system. In addition, the model demonstrates good scalability and can be extended to two-dimensional crossed-chain structures to realize a topological router with variable numbers of output ports. Our work provides practical prospects for fast and robust topological QST in feasible quantum devices in large-scale quantum information processing.

Emergent tricriticality in magnetic metamaterials

Metallic discs engineered on the 100 nm scale have an internal magnetic texture which varies from a fully magnetized state to a vortex state with zero moment. The interplay between this internal structure and the inter-disc interactions is studied in magnetic metamaterials made of square arrays of the magnetic discs. The texture is modeled by a mesospin of varying length with O(2) symmetry and the inter-disc interaction by a nearest neighbour coupling between mesospins. The thermodynamic properties of the model are studied numerically and an ordering transition is found which varies from Kosterlitz-Thouless to first order via an apparent tri-critical point. The effective critical exponent characterising the finite size magnetization evolves from the value for the 2D-XY model to less than half this value at the tri-critical point. The consequences for future experiments both in and out of equilibrium are discussed.

Fisher information of correlated stochastic processes

Many real-world tasks include some kind of parameter estimation, i.e. the determination of a parameter encoded in a probability distribution. Often, such probability distributions arise from stochastic processes. For a stationary stochastic process with temporal correlations, the random variables that constitute it are identically distributed but not independent. This is the case, for instance, for quantum continuous measurements. In this article, we derive the asymptotic Fisher information rate for a stationary process with finite Markov order. We give a precise expression for this rate which is determined by the process’ conditional distribution up to its Markov order. Second, we demonstrate with suitable examples that correlations may both enhance or hamper the metrological precision. Indeed, unlike for entropic information quantities, in general nothing can be said about the sub- or super-additivity of the joint Fisher information in the presence of correlations. To illustrate our results, we apply them to thermometry on an Ising spin chain, considering nearest-neighbour and next-to-nearest neighbour coupling. In this case, the asymptotic Fisher information rate is directly connected to the specific heat capacity of the spin chain. We observe that the presence of correlations strongly enhances the estimation precision in an anti-ferromagnetic chain, while in a ferromagnetic chain this is not the case.

Multiple phase transitions and anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect

Non-Hermiticity is revolutionizing the common understanding in the Hermitian scope by interfacing with topological physics. A single non-Hermitian band can host nontrivial topology that is defined over the nonzero windings of the system's eigenvalues, but not the eigenvectors, as opposed to the Hermitian topological systems. This unique non-Hermitian band topology is responsible for the intriguing non-Hermitian skin effect. Here, we show that the band topology of non-Hermitian one-band models can experience multiple phase transitions. Each transition is identified by a change of the eigenvalue winding. Such an interesting phenomenon is enabled by strategically manipulating the long-range couplings. Associated with the multiple phase transitions, the non-Hermitian skin effect exhibits anomalous behaviors, i.e., in different phases, the skin modes take on different forms of wave localizations. At the transition points, the skin modes evolve into Bloch-wavelike extended states, as if the Hermiticity is restored. For demonstration, we consider a modified Hatano-Nelson model with nonreciprocal next-nearest neighbor couplings. Therein, two phase transitions are identified, corresponding to a stationary and a dynamic one (with respect to the reciprocal nearest-neighbor coupling). Exact analytical derivations are performed to analyze the phase transitions and the associated anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect, which show consistency with the numerical results based on the generalized Brillouin zone method. Our work reveals rich non-Hermitian topological physics in one-band systems, which are considered to be topologically trivial in Hermitian systems. By further showing the anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect, intriguing wave manipulations may inspire experiments in classical realms such as photonics and phononics where versatile non-Hermitian controls are feasible.