G. P. Tsironis

Department of Physics, University of Crete, and IESL/FORTH

Intrinsic localized modes or discrete breathers have been under theoretical investigation for over fifteen years. Recent experiments in diverse systems such as PtCl, acetanylide, etc, have shown that breather modes do exist not only at the scale of a micron but also at a truly microscopic scale. We will give a short review of relevant experimental evidences and attempt to analyze them in a unified fashion in terms of standard theoretical models including the adiabatic Holstein model and the discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation.