Non-linear Dynamics Commons^™

Phenological Overlap In Obligate Plant-Pollinator Mutualism, Austin J. Carlson

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

Plant-pollinator mutualisms require temporal overlap between flowering and pollinator activity, so climate-driven timing shifts can weaken the interaction and, in severe cases, destabilize the system. This work investigates how reduced overlap affects persistence in an obligate plant-pollinator pair using a coupled differential equation model in which a phenological overlap factor scales the saturating mutualistic benefit. Simplification with a constant overlap enables closed-form equilibrium and stability analysis, revealing that below a critical overlap threshold, coexistence is no longer maintained. Rescaling reduces the parameter space from ten quantities to seven dimensionless groups, and sensitivity analysis identifies the degree of species dependence and …

Mathematicly Rigorous Quantum General Relativity, I: Pure, James Glimm

Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

A pure quantum general relativity field is one lacking in matter. Such a field has a Lorentzian space-time geometry. A renormalized perturbation expansion, truncated to all finite orders, establishes  the existence of pure quantum general relativity with full mathematical rigor

Mass Effects On Energy Transfer Paths In Nonlinear Vibrating Systems, Manal Mustafa

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation examines the role of mass in nonlinear systems, uncovering its role in enabling passive energy redistribution and robust vibration control in both idealized and real-world structures. Focusing on a strongly nonlinear two-degree-of-freedom system, it investigates how changes in mass ratio influence the dynamics of energy transfer, nonlinear normal modes (NNMs), and dissipation behavior.

A number of significant contributions are introduced in this work beginning with the introduction of the frequency-energy-peaks (FE-pks) plot, a novel tool that visualizes how energy flows through the system, revealing transient resonance orbits, internal resonance effects, and effectively capturing the different nonlinear phenomena with …

Resonant Solutions Of The Non-Linear Schrödinger Equation With Periodic Potential, Arein Duaibes, Yulia Karpeshina

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The goal is construction of stationary solutions close to non-trivial combinations of two plane waves at high energies for a periodic non-linear Schrödinger Equation in dimension two. The corresponding isoenergetic surface is described for any sufficiently large energy k2. It is shown that the isoenergetic surface corresponding to k2 is essentially different from that for the zero potential even for small potentials. We use a combination of the perturbative results obtained earlier for the linear case and a method of successive approximation.

Normrank Correlations For Testing Associations And For Use In Latent Variable Models, Daniel B. Wright

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

Pearson’s correlation is widely used to test for an association between two variables and also forms the basis of several multivariate statistical procedures including many latent variable models. Spearman’s p is a popular alternative. These procedures are compared with ranking the data and then applying the inverse normal transformation, or for short the normrank transformation. Using the normrank transformation was more powerful than Pearson’s and Spearman’s procedures when the distributions have less than normal kurtosis (platykurtic), when the distributions have greater than normal kurtosis (leptokurtic), and when the distribution is skewed. This is examined for testing if there is an …

Hamiltonian Models For The Propagation Of Long Gravity Waves, Higher-Order Kdv-Type Equations And Integrability, Rossen Ivanov

Book chapter/book

A single incompressible, inviscid, irrotational fluid medium bounded above by a free surface is considered. The Hamiltonian of the system is expressed in terms of the so-called Dirichlet-Neumann operators. The equations for the surface waves are presented in Hamiltonian form. Specific scaling of the variables is selected which leads to a KdV approximation with higher order nonlinearities and dispersion (higher-order KdV-type equation, or HKdV). The HKdV is related to the known integrable PDEs with an explicit nonlinear and nonlocal transformation.

Experimental Analysis Of Nonlinear Wave Propagation In Bistable Mechanical Metamaterials With A Defect, Samuel R. Harre

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mechanical metamaterials built up of compliant units can support the propagation of linear and nonlinear waves. A popular architecture consists of a one-dimensional chain of bistable elements connected by linear springs. This type of chain can support nonlinear transition waves that switch each element from one stable state to the other as they propagate along the chain. One way to manipulate the propagation of such waves is via introduction of a local inhomogeneity, i.e., a defect in the otherwise periodic chain. Recent analytical and numerical work has shown that based on its initial velocity, a transition wave may be reflected, …

Exploring The Presence Of Nonlinear Deterministic Dynamics In Commodity Prices, Sagar Dahal

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Determining whether commodity prices (and volatility) are driven by linear stochastic processes or low-dimensional nonlinear deterministic dynamics (“chaos”) is crucial for policymaking, forecasting, production, storage, investment, risk management, and hedging decisions. Previous studies that used Lyapunov exponents and correlation dimensions to identify chaotic structures in price series may be unreliable in practical applications because these methods rely on asymptotic properties that require large, noiseless data which is often not available. We applied nonlinear time series analysis approaches to empirically detect the underlying market dynamics using the daily futures prices of ten agricultural commodities. We used phase space reconstruction to reconstruct …

Integrable Systems On Symmetric Spaces From A Quadratic Pencil Of Lax Operators, Rossen Ivanov

Conference papers

The article surveys the recent results on integrable systems arising from quadratic pencil of Lax operator L, with values in a Hermitian symmetric space. The counterpart operator M in the Lax pair defines positive, negative and rational flows. The results are illustrated with examples from the A.III symmetric space. The modeling aspect of the arising higher order nonlinear Schrödinger equations is briefly discussed.

The Gelfand Problem For The Infinity Laplacian, Fernando Charro, Byungjae Son, Peiyong Wang

Mathematics Faculty Research Publications

We study the asymptotic behavior as p → ∞ of the Gelfand problem

−Δ_pu = λe^u in Ω ⊂ Rⁿ, u = 0 on ∂Ω.

Under an appropriate rescaling on u and λ, we prove uniform convergence of solutions of the Gelfand problem to solutions of

min{|∇_u|−Λe^u, −Δ_∞u} = 0 in Ω, u = 0 on ∂Ω.

We discuss existence, non-existence, and multiplicity of solutions of the limit problem in terms of Λ.

On The Coriolis Effect For Internal Ocean Waves, Rossen Ivanov

Conference papers

A derivation of the Ostrovsky equation for internal waves with methods of the Hamiltonian water wave dynamics is presented. The internal wave formed at a pycnocline or thermocline in the ocean is influenced by the Coriolis force of the Earth's rotation. The Ostrovsky equation arises in the long waves and small amplitude approximation and for certain geophysical scales of the physical variables.

Traveling Wave Solutions For Two Species Competitive Chemotaxis Systems, T. B. Issa, R. B. Salako, W. Shen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

In this paper, we consider two species chemotaxis systems with Lotka–Volterra competition reaction terms. Under appropriate conditions on the parameters in such a system, we establish the existence of traveling wave solutions of the system connecting two spatially homogeneous equilibrium solutions with wave speed greater than some critical number c∗. We also show the non-existence of such traveling waves with speed less than some critical number c∗0 , which is independent of the chemotaxis. Moreover, under suitable hypotheses on the coefficients of the reaction terms, we obtain explicit range for the chemotaxis sensitivity coefficients ensuring c∗ = c∗0 , which …

Universal Biological Motions For Educational Robot Theatre And Games, Rajesh Venkatachalapathy, Martin Zwick, Adam Slowik, Kai Brooks, Mikhail Mayers, Roman Minko, Tyler Hull, Bliss Brass, Marek Perkowski

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Paper presents a concept that is new to robotics education and social robotics. It is based on theatrical games, in motions for social robots and animatronic robots. Presented here motion model is based on Drift Differential Model from biology and Fokker-Planck equations. This model is used in various areas of science to describe many types of motion. The model was successfully verified on various simulated mobile robots and a motion game of three robots called "Mouse and Cheese."

Lecture 07: Nonlinear Preconditioning Methods And Applications, Xiao-Chuan Cai

Mathematical Sciences Spring Lecture Series

We consider solving system of nonlinear algebraic equations arising from the discretization of partial differential equations. Inexact Newton is a popular technique for such problems. When the nonlinearities in the system are well-balanced, Newton's method works well, but when a small number of nonlinear functions in the system are much more nonlinear than the others, Newton may converge slowly or even stagnate. In such a situation, we introduce some nonlinear preconditioners to balance the nonlinearities in the system. The preconditioners are often constructed using a combination of some domain decomposition methods and nonlinear elimination methods. For the nonlinearly preconditioned problem, …

Multicomponent Fokas-Lenells Equations On Hermitian Symmetric Spaces, Vladimir Gerdjikov, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

Multi-component integrable generalizations of the Fokas-Lenells equation, associated with each irreducible Hermitian symmetric space are formulated. Description of the underlying structures associated to the integrability, such as the Lax representation and the bi-Hamiltonian formulation of the equations is provided. Two reductions are considered as well, one of which leads to a nonlocal integrable model. Examples with Hermitian symmetric spaces of all classical series of types A.III, BD.I, C.I and D.III are presented in details, as well as possibilities for further reductions in a general form.

Five-Wave Resonances In Deep Water Gravity Waves: Integrability, Numerical Simulations And Experiments, Dan Lucas, Marc Perlin, Dian-Yong Liu, Shane Walsh, Rossen Ivanov, Miguel D. Bustamante

Articles

In this work we consider the problem of finding the simplest arrangement of resonant deep water gravity waves in one-dimensional propagation, from three perspectives: Theoretical, numerical and experimental. Theoretically this requires using a normal-form Hamiltonian that focuses on 5-wave resonances. The simplest arrangement is based on a triad of wave vectors K₁ + K₂ = K₃ (satisfying specific ratios) along with their negatives, corresponding to a scenario of encountering wave packets, amenable to experiments and numerical simulations. The normal-form equations for these encountering waves in resonance are shown to be non-integrable, but they admit an integrable reduction …

Numerical Computations Of Vortex Formation Length In Flow Past An Elliptical Cylinder, Matthew Karlson, Bogdan Nita, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We examine two dimensional properties of vortex shedding past elliptical cylinders through numerical simulations. Specifically, we investigate the vortex formation length in the Reynolds number regime 10 to 100 for elliptical bodies of aspect ratio in the range 0.4 to 1.4. Our computations reveal that in the steady flow regime, the change in the vortex length follows a linear profile with respect to the Reynolds number, while in the unsteady regime, the time averaged vortex length decreases in an exponential manner with increasing Reynolds number. The transition in profile is used to identify the critical Reynolds number which marks the …

Teaching And Learning Of Fluid Mechanics, Ashwin Vaidya

Department of Mathematics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Fluid mechanics occupies a privileged position in the sciences; it is taught in various science departments including physics, mathematics, environmental sciences and mechanical, chemical and civil engineering, with each highlighting a different aspect or interpretation of the foundation and applications of fluids. Doll’s fluid analogy [5] for this idea is especially relevant to this issue: “Emergence of creativity from complex flow of knowledge—example of Benard convection pattern as an analogy—dissipation or dispersal of knowledge (complex knowledge) results in emergent structures, i.e., creativity which in the context of education should be thought of as a unique way to arrange information so …

Mitigating Safety Concerns And Profit/Production Losses For Chemical Process Control Systems Under Cyberattacks Via Design/Control Methods, Helen Durand, Matthew Wegener

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

One of the challenges for chemical processes today, from a safety and profit standpoint, is the potential that cyberattacks could be performed on components of process control systems. Safety issues could be catastrophic; however, because the nonlinear systems definition of a cyberattack has similarities to a nonlinear systems definition of faults, many processes have already been instrumented to handle various problematic input conditions. Also challenging is the question of how to design a system that is resilient to attacks attempting to impact the production volumes or profits of a company. In this work, we explore a process/equipment design framework for …

Responsive Economic Model Predictive Control For Next-Generation Manufacturing, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

There is an increasing push to make automated systems capable of carrying out tasks which humans perform, such as driving, speech recognition, and anomaly detection. Automated systems, therefore, are increasingly required to respond to unexpected conditions. Two types of unexpected conditions of relevance in the chemical process industries are anomalous conditions and the responses of operators and engineers to controller behavior. Enhancing responsiveness of an advanced control design known as economic model predictive control (EMPC) (which uses predictions of future process behavior to determine an economically optimal manner in which to operate a process) to unexpected conditions of these types …

Swirling Fluid Flow In Flexible, Expandable Elastic Tubes: Variational Approach, Reductions And Integrability, Rossen Ivanov, Vakhtang Putkaradze

Articles

Many engineering and physiological applications deal with situations when a fluid is moving in flexible tubes with elastic walls. In real-life applications like blood flow, a swirl in the fluid often plays an important role, presenting an additional complexity not described by previous theoretical models. We present a theory for the dynamics of the interaction between elastic tubes and swirling fluid flow. The equations are derived using a variational principle, with the incompressibility constraint of the fluid giving rise to a pressure-like term. In order to connect this work with the previous literature, we consider the case of inextensible and …

On The Intermediate Long Wave Propagation For Internal Waves In The Presence Of Currents, Joseph Cullen, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

A model for the wave motion of an internal wave in the presence of current in the case of intermediate long wave approximation is studied. The lower layer is considerably deeper, with a higher density than the upper layer. The flat surface approximation is assumed. The fluids are incompressible and inviscid. The model equations are obtained from the Hamiltonian formulation of the dynamics in the presence of a depth-varying current. It is shown that an appropriate scaling leads to the integrable Intermediate Long Wave Equation (ILWE). Two limits of the ILWE leading to the integrable Benjamin-Ono and KdV equations are …

Camassa-Holm Cuspons, Solitons And Their Interactions Via The Dressing Method, Rossen Ivanov, Tony Lyons, Nigel Orr

Articles

A dressing method is applied to a matrix Lax pair for the Camassa–Holm equation, thereby allowing for the construction of several global solutions of the system. In particular, solutions of system of soliton and cuspon type are constructed explicitly. The interactions between soliton and cuspon solutions of the system are investigated. The geometric aspects of the Camassa–Holm equation are re-examined in terms of quantities which can be explicitly constructed via the inverse scattering method.

A Primer On Laplacian Dynamics In Directed Graphs, J. J. P. Veerman, R. Lyons

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We analyze the asymptotic behavior of general first order Laplacian processes on digraphs. The most important ones of these are diffusion and consensus with both continuous and discrete time. We treat diffusion and consensus as dual processes. This is the first complete exposition of this material in a single work.

One-Note-Samba Approach To Cosmology, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Inspired by One Note Samba, a standard jazz repertoire, we present an outline of Bose-Einstein Condensate Cosmology. Although this approach seems awkward and a bit off the wall at first glance, it is not impossible to connect altogether BEC, Scalar Field Cosmology and Feshbach Resonance with Ermakov-Pinney equation. We also briefly discuss possible link with our previous paper which describes Newtonian Universe with Vortex in terms of Ermakov equation.

School Policy Evaluated With Time-Reversible Markov Chain, Trajan Murphy, Iddo Ben-Ari

Honors Scholar Theses

In this work we propose a reversible Markov chain scheme to model for the mobility of students affected by a grade school leveling policy. This model provides unified and mathematically tractable framework in which transition functions are sampled uniformly from the set of {\bf reversible} transition functions. The results from the study appear to confirm the disadvantageous effects of this school policy, on par with the of a previous model on the same policy.

Parameter Estimation And Optimal Design Techniques To Analyze A Mathematical Model In Wound Healing, Nigar Karimli

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

For this project, we use a modified version of a previously developed mathematical model, which describes the relationships among matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs), and extracellular matrix (ECM). Our ultimate goal is to quantify and understand differences in parameter estimates between patients in order to predict future responses and individualize treatment for each patient. By analyzing parameter confidence intervals and confidence and prediction intervals for the state variables, we develop a parameter space reduction algorithm that results in better future response predictions for each individual patient. Moreover, use of another subset selection method, namely Structured Covariance Analysis, that …

Equatorial Wave–Current Interactions, Adrian Constantin, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

We study the nonlinear equations of motion for equatorial wave–current interactions in the physically realistic setting of azimuthal two-dimensional inviscid flows with piecewise constant vorticity in a two-layer fluid with a flat bed and a free surface. We derive a Hamiltonian formulation for the nonlinear governing equations that is adequate for structure-preserving perturbations, at the linear and at the nonlinear level. Linear theory reveals some important features of the dynamics, highlighting differences between the short- and long-wave regimes. The fact that ocean energy is concentrated in the long-wave propagation modes motivates the pursuit of in-depth nonlinear analysis in the long-wave …

Riemann-Hilbert Problem, Integrability And Reductions, Vladimir Gerdjikov, Rossen Ivanov, Aleksander Stefanov

Articles

Abstract. The present paper is dedicated to integrable models with Mikhailov reduction groups G_R ≃ D_h. Their Lax representation allows us to prove, that their solution is equivalent to solving Riemann-Hilbert problems, whose contours depend on the realization of the G_R-action on the spectral parameter. Two new examples of Nonlinear Evolution Equations (NLEE) with D_h symmetries are presented.

Surface Waves Over Currents And Uneven Bottom, Alan Compelli, Rossen Ivanov, Calin I. Martin, Michail D. Todorov

Articles

The propagation of surface water waves interacting with a current and an uneven bottom is studied. Such a situation is typical for ocean waves where the winds generate currents in the top layer of the ocean. The role of the bottom topography is taken into account since it also influences the local wave and current patterns. Specific scaling of the variables is selected which leads to approximations of Boussinesq and KdV types. The arising KdV equation with variable coefficients, dependent on the bottom topography, is studied numerically when the initial condition is in the form of the one soliton solution …