Behavior of solitary waves of coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations subjected to complex external periodic potentials with odd- symmetry

Abstract

We discuss the response of both moving and trapped solitary wave solutions of a two-component nonlinear Schrödinger system in 1 + 1 dimensions to an odd- external periodic complex potential. The dynamical behavior of perturbed solitary waves is explored by conducting numerical simulations of the nonlinear system and using a collective coordinate variational approximation. We present case examples corresponding to choices of parameter values and initial conditions involved therein. The results of the collective coordinate approximation are compared against numerical simulations where we observe qualitatively good agreement between the two. Unlike the case for a single-component solitary wave in a complex periodic -symmetric potential, the collective coordinate equations do not have a small oscillation regime, and initially the height of the two components changes in opposite directions often causing instability. We find that the dynamic stability criteria we have used in the one-component case are a good indicator for the onset of dynamic instabilities in the present setup.