Modulated Wave Packets in DNA and Impact of Viscosity

We study the nonlinear dynamics of a DNA molecular system at physiological temperature in a viscous media by using the Peyrard-Bishop model. The nonlinear dynamics of the above system is shown to be governed by the discrete complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. In the non-viscous limit, the equation reduces to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Modulational instability criteria are derived for both the cases. On the basis of these criteria, numerical simulations are made, which confirm the analytical predictions. The planar wave solution used as the initial condition makes localized oscillations of base pairs and causes energy localization. The results also show that the viscosity of the solvent in the surrounding damps out the amplitude of wave patterns.