We demonstrate that stable nonlinear localized modes can exist not only at a light-mass isotopic impurity, but also at a heavy-mass impurity, due to an interplay between discreteness and nonlinearity. This is in sharp contrast to the theory of linear lattice vibrations that an impurity mode is possible only at a light-mass defect. We determine the structure of the nonlinear impurity modes analytically using a four-particle approximation, and confirm the stability by direct numerical simulations.

• Received 20 November 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.55.14265