We investigate how nonlinearity and topological disorder affect the energy relaxation of local kicks in coarse-grained network models of proteins. We find that nonlinearity promotes long-range, coherent transfer of substantial energy to specific, functional sites, while depressing transfer to generic locations. Remarkably, transfer can be mediated by the self-localization of discrete breathers at distant locations from the kick, acting as efficient energy-accumulating centers.
@article{arxiv.0905.1570,
title = {Energy transfer in nonlinear network models of proteins},
author = {Francesco Piazza and Yves-Henri Sanejouand},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0905.1570},
year = {2015}
}