Cooling nonlinear lattices toward energy localization

We describe the energy relaxation process produced by surface damping on lattices of classical anharmonic oscillators. Spontaneous emergence of localized vibrations dramatically slows down dissipation and gives rise to quasistationary states where energy is trapped in the form of a gas of weakly interacting discrete breathers. In one dimension, strong enough on-site coupling may yield stretched-exponential relaxation which is reminiscent of glassy dynamics. We illustrate the mechanism generating localized structures and discuss the crucial role of the boundary conditions. For two-dimensional lattices, the existence of a gap in the breather spectrum causes the localization process to become activated. A statistical analysis of the resulting quasistationary state through the distribution of breathers' energies yield information on their effective interactions. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.