Nonlinear dynamics of semiclassical coherent states in periodic potentials

Abstract

We consider nonlinear Schrödinger equations with either local or nonlocal nonlinearities. In addition, we include periodic potentials as used, for example, in matter wave experiments in optical lattices. By considering the corresponding semiclassical scaling regime, we construct asymptotic solutions, which are concentrated both in space and in frequency around the effective semiclassical phase-space flow induced by Bloch’s spectral problem. The dynamics of these generalized coherent states is governed by a nonlinear Schrödinger model with effective mass. In the case of nonlocal nonlinearities, we establish a novel averaging-type result in the critical case.This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘Coherent states: mathematical and physical aspects’.