Soliton dynamics at an interface between uniform medium and nonlinear optical lattice

TL;DR

This paper investigates how matter-wave solitons interact with an interface between a uniform medium and a nonlinear optical lattice, revealing transmission, reflection, and trapping behaviors through theoretical and numerical analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a combined variational and numerical study of soliton dynamics at a nonlinear lattice interface, identifying transmission thresholds and localized surface states.

Findings

Existence of a threshold amplitude for nonlinear lattice separating transmission and reflection.

Prediction and confirmation of localized nonlinear surface states at the interface.

Dependence of soliton transmission/reflection on lattice phase and soliton width.

Abstract

We study trapping and propagation of a matter-wave soliton through the interface between uniform medium and a nonlinear optical lattice (NOL). Different regimes for transmission of a broad and a narrow soliton are investigated. Reflections and transmissions of solitons are predicted as function of the lattice phase. The existence of a threshold in the amplitude of the nonlinear optical lattice, separating the transmission and reflection regimes, is verified. The localized nonlinear surface state, corresponding to the soliton trapped by the interface, is found. Variational approach predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations for the original Gross-Pitaevskii equation with nonlinear periodic potentials.