Nonlinear eigenvalue methods for linear pointwise stability of nonlinear waves

Abstract: We propose an iterative method to find pointwise growth exponential growth rates in linear problems posed on essentially one-dimensional domains. Such pointwise growth rates capture pointwise stability and instability in extended systems and arise as spectral values of a family of matrices that depends analytically on a spectral parameter, obtained via a scattering-type problem. Different from methods in the literature that rely on computing determinants of this nonlinear matrix pencil, we propose and analyze an inverse power method that allows one to locate robustly the closest spectral value to a given reference point in the complex plane. The method finds branch points, eigenvalues, and resonance poles without a priori knowledge.