Nonlinear wave propagation in parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric localized potentials is investigated analytically near a phase-transition point where a pair of real eigenvalues of the potential coalesce and bifurcate into the complex plane. Necessary conditions for phase transition to occur are derived based on a generalization of the Krein signature. Using multi-scale perturbation analysis, a reduced nonlinear ODE model is derived for the amplitude of localized solutions near phase transition. Above phase transition, this ODE model predicts a family of stable solitons not bifurcating from linear (infinitesimal) modes under a certain sign of nonlinearity. In addition, it predicts periodically-oscillating nonlinear modes away from solitons. Under the opposite sign of nonlinearity, it predicts unbounded growth of solutions. Below phase transition, solution dynamics is predicted as well. All analytical results are compared to direct computations of the full system and good agreement is observed.
We study collisions of moving nonlinear-Schrödinger solitons with a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric dipole embedded into the one-dimensional self-focusing or defocusing medium. Accurate analytical results are produced for bright solitons, and, in a more qualitative form, for dark ones. In the former case, an essential aspect of the approximation is that it must take into regard the intrinsic chirp of the soliton, thus going beyond the framework of the simplest quasi-particle description of the soliton's dynamics. Critical velocities separating reflection and transmission of the incident bright solito…
We discover that a spatially localized gain supports stable vortex solitons in media with cubic nonlinearity and two-photon absorption. The interplay between nonlinear losses and gain in amplifying rings results in suppression of otherwise ubiquitous azimuthal modulation instabilities of radially symmetric vortex solitons. We uncover that the topology of the gain profile imposes restrictions on the maximal possible charge of vortex solitons. Symmetry breaking occurs at high gain levels resulting in the formation of necklace vortex solitons composed of asymmetric bright spots.
We report the existence and properties of localized modes described by nonlinear Schroedinger equation with complex PT-symmetric Rosen-Morse potential well. Exact analytical expressions of the localized modes are found in both one dimensional and two-dimensional geometry with self-focusing and self-defocusing Kerr nonlinearity. Linear stability analysis reveals that these localized modes are unstable for all real values of the potential parameters although corresponding linear Schroedinger eigenvalue problem possesses unbroken PT-symmetry. This result has been verified by the direct numerical …
We address the existence and stability of localized modes in the two-dimensional (2D) linear Schroedinger lattice with two symmetric nonlinear sites embedded into it, and a generalization for moderately localized nonlinearity featuring two distinct symmetric maxima. The latter setting admits a much greater variety of localized modes. Symmetric, antisymmetric, and asymmetric discrete solitons are found, and a subcritical bifurcation, accounting for the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of the symmetric modes and transition to asymmetric ones, is identified. Existence and stability of more com…
The existence and stability of the nonlinear spatial localized modes are investigated in parity-time symmetric optical media characterized by a generic complex hyperbolic refractive index distribution with competing gain and loss profile. The exact analytical expressions of the localized modes are found for all values of the competing parameter and in the presence of both the self-focusing and self-defocusing Kerr nonlinearity. The effect of competing gain/loss profile on the stability structure of these localized modes are discussed with the help of linear stability analysis followed by the d…
We introduce a 2D network built of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric dimers with on-site cubic nonlinearity, the gain and loss elements of the dimers being linked by parallel square-shaped lattices. The system may be realized as a set of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric dual-core waveguides embedded into a photonic crystal. The system supports $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric and antisymmetric fundamental solitons (FSs) and on-site-centered solitary vortices (OnVs). Stability of these discrete solitons is the central topic of the consideration. Their stability regions in the underlying parameter space are identified t…
Using canonical transformations we obtain localized (in space) exact solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with space and time modulated nonlinearity and in the presence of an external potential depending on space and time. In particular we obtain exact solutions of NLSE in the presence of a number of non Hermitian $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric external potentials.
Families of coupled solitons of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric physical models with gain and loss in fractional dimension and in settings with and without cross-interactions modulation (CIM), are reported. Profiles, powers, stability areas, and propagation dynamics of the obtained $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupled solitons are investigated. By comparing the results of the models with and without CIM, we find that the stability area of the model with CIM is much broader than the one without CIM. Remarkably, oscillating $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupled solitons can also exist in the model of CIM with t…
We explore the consequences of incorporating parity and time reversal ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetries on the dynamics of nonreciprocal light propagation exhibited by a class of nonuniform periodic structures known as chirped $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The interplay among various grating parameters such as chirping, detuning, nonlinearities, and gain/loss gives rise to unique bi- and multi-stable states in the unbroken as well as broken $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric regimes. The role of chirping on the steering dynamics of the hysteresis curve is influenced by the type of nonl…
We theoretically investigate the solitary waves and their switching dynamics in a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric directional fiber coupler, exhibiting Kerr nonlinearity, by developing a variational analysis. We analyze the fundamental switching characteristics of the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Kerr coupler in the picosecond timescale by considering the coupled-mode equation for the unperturbed nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which we compare to its conventional counterpart. The impacts of higher-order perturbations (intrapulse Raman scattering, self-steepening, and third-order dispersion) are investig…
We theoretically demonstrate soliton steering in $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupled nonlinear dimers. We show that if the length of the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric system is set to $2π$ contrary to the conventional one which operates satisfactorily well only at the half-beat coupling length, the $\mathcal{PT}$ dimer remarkably yields an ideal soliton switch exhibiting almost 99.99% energy efficiency with an ultra-low critical power.
We study the existence and stability of solitons in the quadratic nonlinear media with spatially localized ${\cal PT}$-symmetric modulation of the linear refractive index. Families of stable one and two hump solitons are found. The properties of nonlinear modes bifurcating from a linear limit of small fundamental harmonic field are investigated. It is shown that the fundamental branch, bifurcating from the linear mode of the fundamental harmonic is limited in power. The power maximum decreases with the strength of the imaginary part of the refractive index. The modes bifurcating from the linea…
The effect of competing nonlinearity on beam dynamics in parity-time $(\mathcal{PT})$ symmetric potentials is investigated. By using numerical methods, the existence of gap solitons is demonstrated in the first Bragg gap of optical $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric lattices with competing nonlinearity. Meanwhile, the stability of such solitons is analyzed through introducing a small perturbation to the solitary solutions. The abrupt annihilation of the solitons during propagation demonstrates the Bragg gap solitons in $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric potentials are not stable. In comparison with the on-site ga…
We introduce the novel concept of a bound state in the continuum (BIC) for a binary lattice satisfying the ${\mathcal{P T}}$ symmetry condition. We show how to build such state and the local potential necessary to sustain it. We find that an appropriate choice of the envelope function can bring the system from a ${\mathcal{P T}}$-symmetric phase into a Hamiltonian one. For more general envelope functions, the BIC can still be created but the bounded state will force the system to undergo the ${\mathcal{P T}}$ symmetry breaking transition.
It is known that multidimensional complex potentials obeying $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry may possess all real spectra and continuous families of solitons. Recently it was shown that for multi-dimensional systems these features can persist when the parity symmetry condition is relaxed so that the potential is invariant under reflection in only a single spatial direction. We examine the existence, stability and dynamical properties of localized modes within the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in such a scenario of partially $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potential.
We study the effect of the interplay between parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetry and optical lattice (OL) potential on dynamics of quantum droplets (QDs) forming in a binary bosonic condensate trapped in a dual-core system. It is found that the stability of symmetric QDs in such non-Hermitian system depends critically on the competition of gain and loss $γ$, inter-core coupling $κ$, and OL potential. In the absence of OL potential, the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric QDs are unstable against symmetry-breaking perturbations with the increase of the total condensate norm $N$, and they retrieve the st…
We report on detailed investigation of the stability of localized modes in the nonlinear Schrodinger equations with a nonlinear parity-time (alias PT) symmetric potential. We are particularly focusing on the case where the spatially-dependent nonlinearity is purely imaginary. We compute the Evans function of the linear operator determining the linear stability of localized modes. Results of the Evans function analysis predict that for sufficiently small dissipation localized modes become stable when the propagation constant exceeds certain threshold value. This is the case for periodic and $\t…
Localized spot patterns, where one or more solution components concentrates at certain points in the domain, are a common class of localized pattern for reaction-diffusion systems, and they arise in a wide range of modeling scenarios. In an arbitrary bounded 3-D domain, the existence, linear stability, and slow dynamics of localized multi-spot patterns is analyzed for the well-known singularly perturbed Gierer-Meinhardt (GM) activator-inhibitor system in the limit of a small activator diffusivity $\varepsilon^2\ll 1$. Our main focus is to classify the different types of multi-spot patterns, an…
We study the dynamics of two-component vector solitons, namely, bright-bright (BB) solitons interacting with parity-time-($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric potentials. We employ direct numerical simulations to demonstrate the unidirectional segregation of the BB soliton. Using a modified perturbed dynamical variational Lagrangian approximation, we develop an analytical model to verify the results obtained from the numerical calculations. Simplified variational equations of motion suggest that the splitting of BB solitons can be explained by considering the effective force between the two components.
We introduce a ladder-shaped chain with each rung carrying a $\mathcal{PT}$ -symmetric gain-loss dipole. The polarity of the dipoles is staggered along the chain, meaning that a rung bearing gain-loss is followed by one bearing loss-gain. This renders the system $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric in both horizontal and vertical directions. The system is governed by a pair of linearly coupled discrete nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equations with self-focusing or defocusing cubic onsite nonlinearity. Starting from the analytically tractable anti-continuum limit of uncoupled rungs and using the Newton's met…
We investigate the existence of stable soliton solution in a system described by complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation with near parity reflection - time reversal ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric Rosen-Morse potential. In this study, the stability of solution is examined by numerical analysis to show that solitons are stable for some parameter ranges. The dynamical properties such as evolution and transverse energy flow for both self-focusing and self-defocusing nonlinear mode are also analyzed. The obtained results are useful for experimental designs and applications in related fields.
The lifetimes of localized nonlinear modes in both the $β$-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou ($β$-FPUT) chain and a cubic $β$-FPUT lattice are studied as functions of perturbation amplitude, and by extension, the relative strength of the nonlinear interactions compared to the linear part. We first recover the well known result that localized nonlinear excitations (LNEs) produced by a bond squeeze can be reduced to an approximate two-frequency solution and then show that the nonlinear term in the potential can lead to the production of secondary frequencies within the phonon band. This can affect the st…
We have considered cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation along with supersymmetric $\mathcal{PT}$ like potential and obtained exact stationary solutions in terms of bright and brigh-dark interacting solitons. The $\mathcal{PT}$ broken and $\mathcal{PT}$ unbroken regions are demonstrated also depicted. Connected and disconnected stable regions of bright and dark solitons are examined incorporating linear stability analysis validated by direct numerical simulations. Moreover, the strength of stability has been illustrated through excitations of bright and dark solitons.
Krein quantity is introduced for isolated neutrally stable eigenvalues associated with the stationary states in the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Krein quantity is real and nonzero for simple eigenvalues but it vanishes if two simple eigenvalues coalesce into a defective eigenvalue. A necessary condition for bifurcation of unstable eigenvalues from the defective eigenvalue is proved. This condition requires the two simple eigenvalues before the coalescence point to have opposite Krein signatures. The theory is illustrated with several numerical examples motivated by …
We show that a pair of coupled nonlinear oscillators, of which one oscillator has positive and the other one negative damping of equal rate, can form a Hamiltonian system. Small-amplitude oscillations in this system are governed by a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric nonlinear Schrödinger dimer with linear and cubic coupling. The dimer also represents a Hamiltonian system and is found to be exactly solvable in elementary functions. We show that the nonlinearity softens the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking transition in the nonlinearly-coupled dimer: stable periodic and quasiperiodic states with large e…
