Mathematics Colloquia and Seminars

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Description

I will discuss recent investigations of highly nonlinear solitary waves in granular chains using numerical computations, analytical calculations, and experiments. I will provide an introduction to both solitary waves and granular chains, and then I will focus on the dynamics of intrinsic localized modes in diatomic chains and chains with defects. I will also briefly discuss the propagation of waves in disordered chains and present an interesting order-disorder transition that is ripe for further study.