On the speed of wave packets and the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation

TL;DR

This paper revisits the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and reveals that soliton speeds can differ from group velocities due to subtle effects, leading to complex dynamics and potential new bound states.

Contribution

It uncovers a novel mechanism where soliton speeds deviate from group velocities, governed by an effective pendulum-like equation, with implications for soliton interactions.

Findings

Soliton speed can differ from group velocity in certain regimes.

The envelope can lock to carrier wave oscillations.

Interaction between solitons may be significantly altered.

Abstract

The universal theory of weakly nonlinear wave packets given by the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation is revisited. In the limit where the group and phase velocities are very close together, a multiple scale analysis carried out beyond all orders reveals that a single soliton, bright or dark, can travel at a different speed than the group velocity. In an exponentially small but finite range of parameters, the envelope of the soliton is locked to the rapid oscillations of the carrier wave. Eventually, the dynamics is governed by an equation anologous to that of a pendulum, in which the center of mass of the soliton is subjected to a periodic potential. Consequently, the soliton speed is not constant and generally contains a periodic component. Furthermore, the interaction between two distant solitons can in principle be profoundly altered by the aforementioned effective periodic potential and we conjecture the existence of new bound states. These results are derived on a wide class of wave models and in such a general way that they are believed to be of universal validity.