Continuous and discrete Schrödinger systems with parity-time-symmetric nonlinearities

Abstract

We investigate the dynamical behavior of continuous and discrete Schrödinger systems exhibiting parity-time (PT) invariant nonlinearities. We show that such equations behave in a fundamentally different fashion than their nonlinear Schrödinger counterparts. In particular, the PT-symmetric nonlinear Schrödinger equation can simultaneously support both bright and dark soliton solutions. In addition, we study a discretized version of this PT-nonlinear Schrödinger equation on a lattice. When only two elements are involved, by obtaining the underlying invariants, we show that this system is fully integrable and we identify the PT-symmetry-breaking conditions. This arrangement is unique in the sense that the exceptional points are fully dictated by the nonlinearity itself.