Elastic and Inelastic Scattering of Flat-Top Solitons

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex scattering behaviors of flat-top solitons in the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation, revealing regimes of elastic and inelastic collisions, and analyzing energy transfer mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of flat-top soliton interactions, identifying conditions for elastic and inelastic collisions and explaining the physics behind energy exchange and radiation emission.

Findings

Periodic elastic scattering regimes identified

Parameter regimes for width exchange in collisions

Energy transfer explains inelasticity in collisions

Abstract

We investigate the interaction between two flat-top solitons within the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation framework. Our study results point towards a significant departure of flat-top solitons collisional characteristics from the conventional behaviors exhibited in the scattering dynamics of two bright solitons. Our investigation outlines specific regimes corresponding to the dual flat-top solitons' elastic and inelastic collisions. We determine regimes in the parameter space where exchange in the widths of the interacting flat-top solitons is possible, even within the elastic collision domain. We find a periodic occurrence of completely elastic scattering of flat-top solitons in terms of the solitons' parameters. Investigating the internal energy transfers between the solitons and the emitted radiation reveals the origin of inelasticity in flat-top solitons collisions. We perform a variational calculation that accounts for the amount of radiation produced by the collision and hence provides further insight on the physics underlying the loss of elasticity of collisions.