Asymmetric soliton mobility in competing linear-nonlinear PT-symmetric lattices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how competing linear and nonlinear PT-symmetric lattices influence the transverse mobility of spatial solitons, revealing enhanced and asymmetric mobility properties due to the interplay of gain/loss and phase tilt effects.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of asymmetric soliton mobility in PT-symmetric lattices with competing linear and nonlinear potentials, highlighting the effects of gain/loss and phase tilt on soliton dynamics.

Findings

Mobility enhancement occurs within a specific soliton energy range.

Adding a small imaginary part to the linear potential causes strong asymmetry in soliton mobility.

Tilted solitons can drag other solitons, forming moving pairs.

Abstract

We address the transverse mobility of spatial solitons in competing parity-time-symmetric linear and nonlinear lattices. The competition between out-of-phase linear and nonlinear lattices results in a drastic mobility enhancement within a range of soliton energies. We show that within such range, the addition of even a small imaginary part in the linear potential makes soliton mobility strongly asymmetric. The minimal phase tilt required for setting solitons into radiationless motion across the lattice in the direction opposite to that of the internal current drops to nearly zero, while the minimal phase tilt required for motion in the opposite direction notably increases. For a given initial phase tilt, the velocity of soliton motion grows with an increase of the balanced gain/losses. In this regime of enhanced mobility, tilted solitons can efficiently drag other solitons that were initially at rest, to form moving soliton pairs.