Davydov Solitons at 300 Kelvin: The Final Search

Abstract

The original proposal by Professor A. S. Davydov of a soliton mechanism for localization and transport of energy along linear chain molecules provided the impetus for several research efforts which have explored the properties of these nonlinear entities in differing degrees of realism. The general conclusion from all of this work is that the nonlinear equations of motion which have been used to describe these systems have soliton-like solutions when they are solved in the deterministic limit. This limit corresponds to the absolute zero of temperature, because it ignores the influence of random thermal perturbations on the system. However, the questions of existence and importance of the Davydov soliton remain controversial when non-zero temperature effects are taken into account, because numerical simulations and theoretical calculations done by independent research groups have reached diametrically opposed conclusions.