Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 54, Nos. 5/6, 1989. p. 1427.
We consider the propagation of kinks in an elastic chain in a bistable or multistable potential under the action of a driving force [M. Biittiker and H. Thomas, Phys. Rev. A 37:235 (1988)]. Each element of the chain is subject to a damping force proportional to its velocity. We show that both the propagation velocity of the kinks as a function of the driving field, and the kink width as a function of propagation velocity, are determined by characteristic functions which depend only on the form of the potential. These functions can be found by considering a single particle moving in the upside-down potential of the chain. The general properties of these functions are studied and illustrated by several examples. The stability of these driven kinks is discussed. Interestingly, we find in addition to the expected discrete localized eigenmodes a two-dimensional continuum of oscillatory modes with a localized envelope.