Nonlinear Sciences

The existence of soliton families in non-parity-time-symmetric complex potentials remains poorly understood, especially in two spatial dimensions. In this article, we analytically investigate the bifurcation of soliton families from linear modes in one- and two-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equations with localized Wadati-type non-parity-time-symmetric complex potentials. By utilizing the conservation law of the underlying non-Hamiltonian wave system, we convert the complex soliton equation into a new real system. For this new real system, we perturbatively construct a continuous family of low-amplitude solitons bifurcating from a linear eigenmode to all orders of the small soliton amplitude. Hence, the emergence of soliton families in these non-parity-time-symmetric complex potentials is analytically explained. We also compare these analytically constructed soliton solutions with high-accuracy numerical solutions in both one and two dimensions, and the asymptotic accuracy of these perturbation solutions is confirmed.

The solutions of the two-dimensional multicomponent Yajima-Oikawa system that have the functional arbitrariness are constructed by using the Darboux transformation technique. For the zero and constant backgrounds, different types of solutions of this system, including the lumps, line rogue waves, semi-rational solutions and their higher-order counterparts, are considered. Also, the generalization of the lump solutions (namely, appearing or disappearing lumps) is obtained in the two-component case under the special choice of the arbitrary functions. Then, the suitable ansatz is used to find the further generalization of these lumps (appearing-disappearing lumps or rogue lumps).

Nonlinear oscillator systems are ubiquitous in biology and physics, and their control is a practical problem in many experimental systems. Here we study this problem in the context of the two models of spatially-coupled oscillators: the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGLE) and a generalization of the CGLE in which oscillators are coupled through an external medium (emCGLE). We focus on external control drives that vary in both space and time. We find that the spatial distribution of the drive signal controls the frequency ranges over which oscillators synchronize to the drive and that boundary conditions strongly influence synchronization to external drives for the CGLE. Our calculations also show that the emCGLE has a low density regime in which a broad range of frequencies can be synchronized for low drive amplitudes. We study the bifurcation structure of these models and find that they are very similar to results for the driven Kuramoto model, a system with no spatial structure. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results for controlling coupled oscillator systems such as the social amoebae \emph{Dictyostelium} and populations of BZ catalytic particles using spatially structured external drives.

We develop a weakly nonlinear model to study the spatiotemporal manifestation and the dynamical behavior of surface waves in the presence of an underlying interfacial solitary wave in a two-layer fluid system. We show that interfacial solitary-wave solutions of this model can capture the ubiquitous broadening of large-amplitude internal waves in the ocean. In addition, the model is capable of capturing three asymmetric behaviors of surface waves: (i) Surface waves become short in wavelength at the leading edge and long at the trailing edge of an underlying interfacial solitary wave. (ii) Surface waves propagate towards the trailing edge with a relatively small group velocity, and towards the leading edge with a relatively large group velocity. (iii) Surface waves become high in amplitude at the leading edge and low at the trailing edge. These asymmetric behaviors can be well quantified in the theoretical framework of ray-based theories. Our model is relatively easily tractable both theoretically and numerically, thus facilitating the understanding of the surface signature of the observed internal waves.

We study the existence of one-dimensional localized states supported by linear periodic potentials and a domain-wall-like Kerr nonlinearity. The model gives rise to several new types of asymmetric localized states, including single- and double-hump soliton profiles, and multihump structures. Exploiting the linear stability analysis and direct simulations, we prove that these localized states are exceptional stable in the respective finite band gaps. The model applies to Bose-Einstein condensates loaded onto optical lattices, and in optics with period potentials, e.g., the photonic crystals and optical waveguide arrays, thereby the predicted solutions can be implemented in the state-of-the-art experiments.

Spectral singularities and the coherent perfect absorption are two interrelated concepts that have originally been introduced and studied for linear waves interacting with complex potentials. In the meantime, the distinctive asymptotic behavior of perfectly absorbed waves suggests considering possible generalizations of these phenomena for nonlinear waves. Here we address perfect absorption of nonlinear waves by an idealized infinitely narrow dissipative potential modeled by a Dirac δ -function with an imaginary amplitude. Our main result is the existence of perfectly absorbed flows whose spatial amplitude distributions are asymmetric with respect to the position of the absorber. These asymmetric states do not have a linear counterpart. Their linear stability is verified numerically. The nonlinear waveguide also supports symmetric and constant-amplitude perfectly absorbed flows. The stability of solutions of the latter type can be confirmed analytically.

We introduce a model based on the one-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equation (NLSE) with the critical (quintic) or supercritical self-focusing nonlinearity. We demonstrate that a family of solitons, which are unstable in this setting against collapse, is stabilized by pinning to an attractive defect, that may also include a parity-time (PT)-symmetric gain-loss component. The model can be realized as a planar waveguide in optics, and in a super-Tonks-Girardeau bosonic gas. For the attractive defect with the delta-functional profile, a full family of the pinned solitons is found in an exact form. In the absence of the gain-loss term, the solitons' stability is investigated analytically too, by means of the Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion; in the presence of the PT-balanced gain and loss, the stability is explored by means of numerical methods. In particular, the entire family of pinned solitons is stable in the quintic medium if the gain-loss term is absent. A stability region for the pinned solitons persists in the model with an arbitrarily high power of the self-focusing nonlinearity. A weak gain-loss component gives rise to alternations of stability and instability in the system's parameter plane. Those solitons which are unstable under the action of the supercritical self-attraction are destroyed by the collapse. If the self-attraction-driven instability is weak and the gain-loss term is present, unstable solitons spontaneously transform into localized breathers. The same outcome may be caused by a combination of the critical nonlinearity with the gain and loss. Instability of the solitons is also possible when the PT-symmetric gain-loss term is added to the subcritical nonlinearity. The system with self-repulsive nonlinearity is briefly considered too, producing completely stable families of pinned localized states.

The iteration sequence based on the BLUES (Beyond Linear Use of Equation Superposition) function method for calculating analytic approximants to solutions of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with sources is elaborated upon. Diverse problems in physics are studied and approximate analytic solutions are found. We first treat a damped driven nonlinear oscillator and show that the method can correctly reproduce oscillatory behaviour. Next, a fractional differential equation describing heat transfer in a semi-infinite rod with Stefan-Boltzmann cooling is handled. In this case, a detailed comparison is made with the Adomian decomposition method, the outcome of which is favourable for the BLUES method. As a final problem, the Fisher equation from population biology is dealt with. For all cases, it is shown that the solutions converge exponentially fast to the numerically exact solution, either globally or, for the Fisher problem, locally.

Optimizing the properties of the mosaic morphology of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaics (OPV) is not only challenging technologically but also intriguing from the mechanistic point of view. Among the recent breakthroughs is the identification and utilization of a three-phase (donor/mixed/acceptor) BHJ, where the (intermediate) mixed-phase can inhibit morphological changes, such as phase separation. Using a mean-field approach, we reveal and distinguish, between generic mechanisms that alter through transverse instabilities the evolution of stripes: the bending (zigzag mode) and the pinching (cross-roll mode) of the donor/acceptor domains. The results are summarized in a parameter plane spanned by the mixing energy and illumination, and show that donor-acceptor mixtures with higher mixing energy are more likely to develop pinching under charge-flux boundary conditions. The latter is notorious as it leads to the formation of disconnected domains and hence to loss of charge flux. We believe that these results provide a qualitative road-map for BHJ optimization, using mixed-phase composition and therefore, an essential step toward long-lasting OPV. More broadly, the results are also of relevance to study the coexistence of multiple-phase domains in material science, such as in ion-intercalated rechargeable batteries.

A density oscillator exhibits limit-cycle oscillations driven by the density difference of the two fluids. We performed two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with a simple model, and reproduced the oscillatory flow observed in experiments. As the density difference is increased as a bifurcation parameter, a damped oscillation changes to a limit-cycle oscillation through a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. We estimated the critical density difference at the bifurcation point and confirmed that the period of the oscillation remains finite even around the bifurcation point.