Localized modes on an Ablowitz-Ladik nonlinear impurity

Abstract

We study localized modes on a single Ablowitz-Ladik impurity embedded in the bulk or at the surface of a one-dimensional linear lattice. Exact expressions are obtained for the bound state profile and energy. Dynamical excitation of the localized mode reveals exponentially-high amplitude oscillations of the spatial profile at the impurity location. The presence of a surface increases the minimum nonlinearity to effect a dynamical selftrapping.