Algebraic solitons in the massive Thirring model.

We present exact solutions describing dynamics of two algebraic solitons in the massive Thirring model. Each algebraic soliton corresponds to a simple embedded eigenvalue in the Kaup-Newell spectral problem and attains the maximal mass among the family of solitary waves traveling with the same speed. By coalescence of speeds of the two algebraic solitons, we find a new solution for an algebraic double-soliton which corresponds to a double embedded eigenvalue.

Rogue waves on the background of periodic standing waves in the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

The derivative nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation is the canonical model for the dynamics of nonlinear waves in plasma physics and optics. We study exact solutions describing rogue waves on the background of periodic standing waves in the DNLS equation. We show that the space-time localization of a rogue wave is only possible if the periodic standing wave is modulationally unstable.

Rogue waves on the double-periodic background in the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

The double-periodic solutions of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation have been previously obtained by the method of separation of variables. We construct these solutions by using an algebraic method with two eigenvalues. Furthermore, we characterize the Lax spectrum for the double-periodic solutions and analyze rogue waves arising on the background of such solutions.

Rogue periodic waves of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

stand for rogue waves on a periodic background. The nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the focusing case admits two families of periodic wave solutions expressed by the Jacobian elliptic functions and . Both periodic waves are modulationally unstable with respect to long-wave perturbations.

Spectral stability of periodic waves in the generalized reduced Ostrovsky equation.

We consider stability of periodic travelling waves in the generalized reduced Ostrovsky equation with respect to co-periodic perturbations. Compared to the recent literature, we give a simple argument that proves spectral stability of all smooth periodic travelling waves independent of the nonlinearity power. The argument is based on the energy convexity and does not use coordinate transformations of the reduced Ostrovsky equations to the semi-linear equations of the Klein-Gordon type.

Energy Criterion for the Spectral Stability of Discrete Breathers.

Discrete breathers are ubiquitous structures in nonlinear anharmonic models ranging from the prototypical example of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model to Klein-Gordon nonlinear lattices, among many others. We propose a general criterion for the emergence of instabilities of discrete breathers analogous to the well-established Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion for solitary waves. The criterion involves the change of monotonicity of the discrete breather's energy as a function of the breather frequency.

Gaussian solitary waves and compactons in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam lattices with Hertzian potentials.

We consider a class of fully nonlinear Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) lattices, consisting of a chain of particles coupled by fractional power nonlinearities of order >1. This class of systems incorporates a classical Hertzian model describing acoustic wave propagation in chains of touching beads in the absence of precompression. We analyse the propagation of localized waves when is close to unity.

Wave systems with an infinite number of localized traveling waves.

In many wave systems, propagation of steadily traveling solitons or kinks is prohibited because of resonances with linear excitations. We show that wave systems with resonances may admit an infinite number of traveling solitons or kinks if the closest to the real axis singularities of a limiting asymptotic solution in the complex upper half plane are of the form z±=±α+iβ, α≠0. This quite general statement is illustrated by examples of the fifth-order Korteweg-de Vries equation, the discrete cubic-quintic Klein-Gordon equation, and the nonlocal double sine-Gordon equations.

Vortex families near a spectral edge in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a two-dimensional periodic potential.

We examine numerically vortex families near band edges of the Bloch wave spectrum for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with two-dimensional periodic potentials and for the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We show that besides vortex families that terminate at a small distance from the band edges via fold bifurcations, there exist vortex families that are continued all the way to the band edges.

Paradoxical transitions to instabilities in hydromagnetic Couette-Taylor flows.

By methods of modern spectral analysis, we rigorously find distributions of eigenvalues of linearized operators associated with an ideal hydromagnetic Couette-Taylor flow. The transition to instability in the limit of a vanishing magnetic field has a discontinuous change compared to the Rayleigh stability criterion for hydrodynamical flows, which is known as the Velikhov-Chandrasekhar paradox.

Feshbach resonance management of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices.

We analyze gap solitons in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) in optical lattice potentials under Feshbach resonance management. Starting with an averaged Gross-Pitaevsky equation with a periodic potential, we employ an envelope-wave approximation to derive coupled-mode equations describing the slow BEC dynamics in the first spectral gap of the optical lattice. We construct exact analytical formulas describing gap soliton solutions and examine their spectral stability using the Chebyshev interpolation method.

Stability analysis of embedded solitons in the generalized third-order nonlinear Schrodinger equation.

We study the generalized third-order nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equation which admits a one-parameter family of single-hump embedded solitons. Analyzing the spectrum of the linearization operator near the embedded soliton, we show that there exists a resonance pole in the left half-plane of the spectral parameter, which explains linear stability, rather than nonlinear semistability, of embedded solitons. Using exponentially weighted spaces, we approximate the resonance pole both analytically and numerically.

Averaging of nonlinearity-managed pulses.

We consider the nonlinear Schrodinger equation with the nonlinearity management which describes Bose-Einstein condensates under Feshbach resonance. By using an averaging theory, we derive the Hamiltonian averaged equation and compare it with other averaging methods developed for this problem. The averaged equation is used for analytical approximations of nonlinearity-managed solitons.

Solitons in nonintegrable systems.

We introduce the concept of this special focus issue on solitons in nonintegrable systems. A brief overview of some recent developments is provided, and the various contributions are described. The topics covered in this focus issue are the modulation of solitons, bores, and shocks, the dynamical evolution of solitary waves, and existence and stability of solitary waves and embedded solitons.

Translationally invariant discrete kinks from one-dimensional maps.

For most discretizations of the phi4 theory, the stationary kink can only be centered either on a lattice site or midway between two adjacent sites. We search for exceptional discretizations that allow stationary kinks to be centered anywhere between the sites. We show that this translational invariance of the kink implies the existence of an underlying one-dimensional map phi(n+1) =F (phi(n)) .

Oscillations of dark solitons in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates.

We consider a one-dimensional defocusing Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a parabolic potential. Dark solitons oscillate near a center of the potential trap and their amplitude decays due to radiative losses (sound emission). We develop a systematic asymptotic multiscale expansion method in the limit when the potential trap is flat.

Bifurcations and stability of gap solitons in periodic potentials.

We analyze the existence, stability, and internal modes of gap solitons in nonlinear periodic systems described by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a sinusoidal potential, such as photonic crystals, waveguide arrays, optically-induced photonic lattices, and Bose-Einstein condensates loaded onto an optical lattice. We study bifurcations of gap solitons from the band edges of the Floquet-Bloch spectrum, and show that gap solitons can appear near all lower or upper band edges of the spectrum, for focusing or defocusing nonlinearity, respectively. We show that, in general, two types of gap solitons can bifurcate from each band edge, and one of those two is always unstable.

Generation of large-amplitude solitons in the extended Korteweg-de Vries equation.

We study the extended Korteweg-de Vries equation, that is, the usual Korteweg-de Vries equation but with the inclusion of an extra cubic nonlinear term, for the case when the coefficient of the cubic nonlinear term has an opposite polarity to that of the coefficient of the linear dispersive term. As this equation is integrable, the number and type of solitons formed can be determined from an appropriate spectral problem. For initial disturbances of small amplitude, the number and type of solitons generated is similar to the well-known situation for the Korteweg-de Vries equation.

Persistent oscillations of scalar and vector dispersion-managed solitons.

We show that both orthogonal and parallel internal modes exist on the background of a dispersion-managed (DM) soliton in randomly birefringent fibers. The orthogonal modes exist for arbitrarily small values of the dispersion map strength, while the parallel modes exist only when the map strength exceeds a certain threshold value. We demonstrate that initial perturbations of a DM soliton's profile that consist of one or more internal modes, exhibit nearly stable oscillations over very long propagation distances, before decaying into radiation.

Stable vortex and dipole vector solitons in a saturable nonlinear medium.

We study both analytically and numerically the existence, uniqueness, and stability of vortex and dipole vector solitons in a saturable nonlinear medium in (2+1) dimensions. We construct perturbation series expansions for the vortex and dipole vector solitons near the bifurcation point, where the vortex and dipole components are small. We show that both solutions uniquely bifurcate from the same bifurcation point.