On vortex and dark solitons in the cubic–quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation

Abstract

We study topologically charged propagation-invariant eigenstates of the 1+2-dimensional Schrödinger equation with a cubic (focusing)–quintic (defocusing) nonlinear term. First, we revisit the self-trapped vortex soliton solutions. Using a variational ansatz that allows us to describe the solutions as a liquid with a surface tension, we derive a simple formula relating the inner and outer radii of the bright vortex ring. Then, using numerical and variational techniques, we analyse dark soliton solutions for which the wave function density asymptotes to a non-vanishing value. We find an eigenvalue cutoff for the propagation constant that depends on the topological charge l. The variational profile provides simple and very accurate results for l≥2. We also study the azimuthal stability of the eigenstates by a linear analysis finding that they are stable for all values of the propagation constant, at least for small l.