The role of integrability in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou-like models

In these lecture notes, we present, contextualize, and discuss the phenomenon of metastability (or prethermalization) in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou lattice and similar models from the viewpoint of perturbation theory.

We provide an updated state-of-the-art description of this intermediate state in terms of the underlying integrable dynamics, in particular the Korteweg-de Vries and inviscid Burgers equations.