Existence of solitary waves in one dimensional peridynamics

We give a rigorous proof of existence for solitary waves of a peridynamics model in one space dimension recently investigated by Silling (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 96:121–132, 2016). We adapt the variational framework developed by Friesecke and Wattis (Comm. Math Phys. 161:391–418, 1994) for the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou lattice equations to treat a truncated problem which cuts off short-range interactions, then pass to the limit.