The recently discovered phenomenon of nonlinear supratransmission consists in a sudden increase of the amplitude of a transmitted wave triggered by the excitation of nonlinear localized modes of the medium. We examine this process for the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain, sinusoidally driven at one edge and damped at the other. The supratransmission regime occurs for driving frequencies above the upper band edge and originates from direct moving discrete breather creation. We derive approximate analytical estimates of the supratransmission threshold, which are in excellent agreement with numerics. When analyzing the long-time behavior, we discover that, below the supratransmission threshold, a conducting stationary state coexists with the insulating one. We explain the bistable nature of the energy flux in terms of the excitation of quasiharmonic extended waves. This leads to the analytical calculation of a lower-transmission threshold which is also in reasonable agreement with numerical experiments.

The effect of nonlinear transmission in coupled optical waveguide arrays is theoretically investigated and a realistic experimental setup is suggested. The beam is injected in a single boundary waveguide, linear refractive index of which ($n_0$) is larger than refractive indexes ($n$) of other identical waveguides in the array. Particularly, the effect holds if $\omega (n_0-n)/c>2Q$, where $Q$ is a linear coupling constant between array waveguides, $\omega$ is a carrier wave frequency, and $c$ is a light velocity. Numerical experiments show that the energy transfers from the boundary waveguide to the waveguide array above a certain threshold intensity of the injected beam. This effect is due to the creation and the propagation of gap solitons in full analogy with a similar phenomenon in sine-Gordon lattice [F. Geniet and J. Leon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 134102 (2002)].

Landau-Zener tunneling is discussed in connection with optical waveguide arrays. Light injected in a specific band of the Bloch spectrum in the propagation constant can be transmitted to another band, changing its physical properties. This can be achieved using two coupled waveguide arrays with different refractive indices. The step in the refractive index causes wave “acceleration” and thus induces strongly nonadiabatic Landau-Zener tunneling. Theoretically, the analysis is performed by considering a Schrödinger equation in a periodic potential with a step. The region of physical parameters where this phenomenon can occur is analytically determined and a realistic experimental setup is suggested. Its application could allow the realization of light filters.

We propose a method for optical visualization of the Bose-Hubbard model with two interacting bosons in the form of two-dimensional (2D) optical lattices consisting of optical waveguides, where the waveguides at the diagonal are characterized by different refractive indices than others elsewhere, modeling the boson-boson interaction. We study the light intensity distribution function averaged over the direction of propagation for both ordered and disordered cases, exploring the sensitivity of the averaged picture with respect to the beam injection position. For our finite systems, the resulting patterns are reminiscent the ones set in billiards, and therefore we introduce a definition of discrete quantum billiards and discuss the possible relevance to its well-established continuous counterpart.

We study spatial pattern formation and energy localization in the dynamics of an anharmonic chain with quadratic and quartic intersite potential, subject to an optical, sinusoidally oscillating field and a weak damping. The zone-boundary mode is stable and locked to the driving field below a critical forcing that we determine analytically using an approximate model, which describes mode interactions. Above such a forcing, a standing modulated wave forms for driving frequencies below the band edge, while a “multibreather” state develops at higher frequencies. Of the former, we give an explicit approximate analytical expression, which compares well with numerical data. At higher forcing, space-time chaotic patterns are observed.

The possibility of direct observation of the nonlinear Landau-Zener tunneling effect with a device consisting of two waveguide arrays connected to a tilted reduced refractive index barrier is discussed. Numerical simulations on this realistic setup are interpreted via a simplified double-well system and different asymmetric tunneling scenarios are predicted varying just the injected beam intensity.