Breather
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For the component in an internal combustion engine, see Crankcase ventilation system. For the item of scuba apparatus, see rebreather. For other uses, see Breather (disambiguation).
In physics, a breather is a nonlinear wave in which energy concentrates in a localized and oscillatory fashion. This contradicts with the expectations derived from the corresponding linear system for infinitesimal amplitudes, which tends towards an even distribution of initially localized energy.
A discrete breather is a breather solution on a nonlinear lattice.
The term breather originates from the characteristic that most breathers are localized in space and oscillate (breathe) in time.[1] But also the opposite situation: oscillations in space and localized in time[clarification needed], is denoted as a breather.