Directed transport of modulated structures in the Frenkel–Kontorova model with a pulsating coupling

We study the directed transport of commensurate and incommensurate modulated phases of the Frenkel–Kontorova model by (parametric driving) periodic pulsed variation of the nearest-neighbor coupling in the dissipative limit of the dynamics. We obtain that a directed current flow appears as the amplitude of the pulsating coupling C increases above a threshold coupling Cth. This threshold coupling depends on the average interspacing ω between the oscillators displaying singularities as the system becomes commensurable with the underlying lattice. By making use of the discommensuration theory of modulated phases we obtain that the dependence of the directed current on ω is a piecewise linear function with integer slope. Numerical results confirm these predictions.