The two physics governing the one-dimensional cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation

Mucalica, Ana

The two physics governing the one-dimensional cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation

Author

Mucalica, Ana

Faculty Advisor

Bica, Ion

Date

2021

Keywords

Schrödinger equation, nonlinearity

Abstract (summary)

In 1926, in his quest to explain the quantum probabilistic nature of particles, Erwin Schrödinger proposed a nonrelativistic wave equation that required only one initial condition, i.e., the initial displacement of an electron. His equation describes the wave-particle duality discovered by Louis de Broglie in 1924. Furthermore, Schrödinger's wave equation is dimensionless, allowing the equation to be a mathematical model describing different physical phenomena. Introducing nonlinearity into the Schrödinger equation, we worked with the so-called self-focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We showed that when the nonlinearity is perfectly balanced with the dispersion, the self-focusing nonlinear Schrödinger model describes the propagation of a soliton. In 1968 Peter Lax introduced the "Lax Pair," a pair of time-dependent matrices/operators describing the nature of a nonlinear evolution partial differential equation, to discuss solitons in continuous media. This procedure is what we call the scattering method for describing mathematically nonlinear processes in physics. We used the scattering method to find the Lax Pair for the nonlinear Schrodinger model, and we showed that the equation is a compatibility condition for the AKNS system. In 1974, Ablowitz, Kaup, Newell, and Segur (AKNS) introduced the inverse scattering transform to solve evolution nonlinear partial differential equations arising from compatibility conditions for the AKNS system. Rather than using the inverse scattering transform, we showed an intuitive approach in revealing the formation and propagation of a soliton for the self-focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation, using a novel approach via cnoidal waves. The work will also include a novel theorem describing the steepening of the wavefront due to nonlinearity.