Undular bore theory for the modified Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers equation.

We consider nonlinear wave structures described by the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation, taking into account a small Burgers viscosity for the case of steplike initial conditions. The Whitham modulation equations are derived, which include the small viscosity as a perturbation. It is shown that for a long enough time of evolution, this small perturbation leads to the stabilization of cnoidal bores, and their main characteristics are obtained. The applicability conditions of this approach are discussed. Analytical theory is compared with numerical solutions and good agreement is found.

Propagation of generalized Korteweg-de Vries solitons along large-scale waves.

We consider propagation of solitons along large-scale background waves in the generalized Korteweg-de Vries (gKdV) equation theory when the width of the soliton is much smaller than the characteristic size of the background wave. Due to this difference in scales, the soliton's motion does not affect the dispersionless evolution of the background wave. We obtained the Hamilton equations for soliton's motion and derived simple relationships which express the soliton's velocity in terms of a local value of the background wave. Solitons' paths obtained by integration of these relationships agree very well with the exact numerical solutions of the gKdV equation.

Asymptotic theory of not completely integrable soliton equations.

We develop the theory of transformation of intensive initial nonlinear wave pulses to trains of solitons emerging at asymptotically large time of evolution. Our approach is based on the theory of dispersive shock waves in which the number of nonlinear oscillations in the shock becomes the number of solitons at the asymptotic state. We show that this number of oscillations, which is proportional to the classical action of particles associated with the small-amplitude edges of shocks, is preserved by the dispersionless flow. Then, the Poincaré-Cartan integral invariant is also constant, and therefore, it reduces to the quantization rule similar to the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule for a linear spectral problem associated with completely integrable equations. This rule yields a set of "eigenvalues," which are related to the asymptotic solitons' velocities and their characteristics. It is implied that the soliton equations under consideration give modulationally stable solutions; therefore, these "eigenvalues" are real. Our analytical results agree very well with the results of numerical solutions of the generalized defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Motion of dark solitons in a non-uniform flow of Bose-Einstein condensate.

We study motion of dark solitons in a non-uniform one-dimensional flow of a Bose-Einstein condensate. Our approach is based on Hamiltonian mechanics applied to the particle-like behavior of dark solitons in a slightly non-uniform and slowly changing surrounding. In one-dimensional geometry, the condensate's wave function undergoes the jump-like behavior across the soliton, and this leads to generation of the counterflow in the background condensate. For a correct description of soliton's dynamics, the contributions of this counterflow to the momentum and energy of the soliton are taken into account. The resulting Hamilton equations are reduced to the Newton-like equation for the soliton's path, and this Newton equation is solved in several typical situations. The analytical results are confirmed by numerical calculations.

Contour dynamics of two-dimensional dark solitons.

Equations for contour dynamics of trough-shaped dark solitons are obtained for the general form of the nonlinearity function. Their self-similar solution which describes the nonlinear stage of the bending instability of dark solitons is studied in detail.

Number of solitons produced from a large initial pulse in the generalized NLS dispersive hydrodynamics theory.

We show that the number of solitons produced from an arbitrary initial pulse of the simple wave type can be calculated analytically if its evolution is governed by a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation provided this number is large enough. The final result generalizes the asymptotic formula derived for completely integrable nonlinear wave equations such as the standard NLS equation with the use of the inverse scattering transform method.

Quantitative Analysis of Shock Wave Dynamics in a Fluid of Light.

We report on the formation of a dispersive shock wave in a nonlinear optical medium. We monitor the evolution of the shock by tuning the incoming beam power. The experimental observations for the position and intensity of the solitonic edge of the shock, as well as the location of the nonlinear oscillations are well described by recent developments of Whitham modulation theory. Our work constitutes a detailed and accurate benchmark for this approach. It opens exciting possibilities to engineer specific configurations of optical shock wave for studying wave-mean flow interaction.

Theory of quasi-simple dispersive shock waves and number of solitons evolved from a nonlinear pulse.

The theory of motion of edges of dispersive shock waves generated after wave breaking of simple waves is developed. It is shown that this motion obeys Hamiltonian mechanics complemented by a Hopf-like equation for evolution of the background flow, which interacts with the edge wave packets or the edge solitons. A conjecture about the existence of a certain symmetry between equations for the small-amplitude and soliton edges is formulated. In the case of localized simple-wave pulses propagating through a quiescent medium, this theory provided a new approach to derivation of an asymptotic formula for the number of solitons eventually produced from such a pulse.

Self-similar wave breaking in dispersive Korteweg-de Vries hydrodynamics.

We discuss the problem of breaking of a nonlinear wave in the process of its propagation into a medium at rest. It is supposed that the profile of the wave is described at the breaking moment by the function (-x)1/n (x<0, positive pulse) or -x1/n (x>0, negative pulse) of the coordinate x. Evolution of the wave is governed by the Korteweg-de Vries equation resulting in the formation of a dispersive shock wave. In the positive pulse case, the dispersive shock wave forms at the leading edge of the wave structure and in the negative pulse case, at its rear edge. The dynamics of dispersive shock waves is described by the Whitham modulation equations. For power law initial profiles, this dynamics is self-similar and the solution of the Whitham equations is obtained in a closed form for arbitrary n>1.

Long-time evolution of pulses in the Korteweg-de Vries equation in the absence of solitons reexamined: Whitham method.

We consider the long-time evolution of pulses in the Korteweg-de Vries equation theory for initial distributions which produce no soliton but instead lead to the formation of a dispersive shock wave and of a rarefaction wave. An approach based on Whitham modulation theory makes it possible to obtain an analytic description of the structure and to describe its self-similar behavior near the soliton edge of the shock. The results are compared with numerical simulations.

Dispersive shock wave theory for nonintegrable equations.

We suggest a method for calculation of parameters of dispersive shock waves in the framework of Whitham modulation theory applied to nonintegrable wave equations with a wide class of initial conditions corresponding to propagation of a pulse into a medium at rest. The method is based on universal applicability of Whitham's "number of waves conservation law" as well as on the conjecture of applicability of its soliton counterpart to the above mentioned class of initial conditions which is substantiated by comparison with similar situations in the case of completely integrable wave equations. This allows one to calculate the limiting characteristic velocities of the Whitham modulation equations at the boundary with the smooth part of the pulse whose evolution obeys the dispersionless approximation equations. We show that explicit analytic expressions can be obtained for laws of motion of the edges. The validity of the method is confirmed by its application to similar situations described by the integrable Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equations and by comparison with the results of numerical simulations for the generalized KdV and NLS equations.

Simple waves in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate.

We study the dynamics of so-called simple waves in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate. The evolution of the condensate is described by Gross-Pitaevskii equations which can be reduced for these simple wave solutions to a system of ordinary differential equations which coincide with those derived by Ovsyannikov for the two-layer fluid dynamics. We solve the Ovsyannikov system for two typical situations of large and small difference between interspecies and intraspecies nonlinear interaction constants. Our analytic results are confirmed by numerical simulations.

Evolution of initial discontinuities in the Riemann problem for the Kaup-Boussinesq equation with positive dispersion.

We consider the space-time evolution of initial discontinuities of depth and flow velocity for an integrable version of the shallow water Boussinesq system introduced by Kaup. We focus on a specific version of this "Kaup-Boussinesq model" for which a flat water surface is modulationally stable, we speak below of "positive dispersion" model. This model also appears as an approximation to the equations governing the dynamics of polarisation waves in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates. We describe its periodic solutions and the corresponding Whitham modulation equations. The self-similar, one-phase wave structures are composed of different building blocks, which are studied in detail. This makes it possible to establish a classification of all the possible wave configurations evolving from initial discontinuities. The analytic results are confirmed by numerical simulations.

Solution of the Riemann problem for polarization waves in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate.

We provide a classification of the possible flows of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates evolving from initially discontinuous profiles. We consider the situation where the dynamics can be reduced to the consideration of a single polarization mode (also denoted as "magnetic excitation") obeying a system of equations equivalent to the Landau-Lifshitz equation for an easy-plane ferromagnet. We present the full set of one-phase periodic solutions. The corresponding Whitham modulation equations are obtained together with formulas connecting their solutions with the Riemann invariants of the modulation equations. The problem is not genuinely nonlinear, and this results in a non-single-valued mapping of the solutions of the Whitham equations with physical wave patterns as well as the appearance of interesting elements-contact dispersive shock waves-that are absent in more standard, genuinely nonlinear situations. Our analytic results are confirmed by numerical simulations.

Oblique breathers generated by a flow of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates past a polarized obstacle.

We predict that oblique breathers can be generated by a flow of two-component Bose-Einstein condensates past a polarized obstacle that attracts one component of the condensate and repels the other one. The breather exists if intraspecies interaction constants differ from the interspecies interaction constant, and it corresponds to the nonlinear excitation of the so-called polarization mode with domination of the relative motion of the components. Analytical theory is developed for the case of small-amplitude breathers that is in reasonable agreement with the numerical results.

Undular bore theory for the Gardner equation.

We develop modulation theory for undular bores (dispersive shock waves) in the framework of the Gardner, or extended Korteweg-de Vries (KdV), equation, which is a generic mathematical model for weakly nonlinear and weakly dispersive wave propagation, when effects of higher order nonlinearity become important. Using a reduced version of the finite-gap integration method we derive the Gardner-Whitham modulation system in a Riemann invariant form and show that it can be mapped onto the well-known modulation system for the Korteweg-de Vries equation. The transformation between the two counterpart modulation systems is, however, not invertible. As a result, the study of the resolution of an initial discontinuity for the Gardner equation reveals a rich phenomenology of solutions which, along with the KdV-type simple undular bores, include nonlinear trigonometric bores, solibores, rarefaction waves, and composite solutions representing various combinations of the above structures. We construct full parametric maps of such solutions for both signs of the cubic nonlinear term in the Gardner equation. Our classification is supported by numerical simulations.

Two-dimensional supersonic nonlinear Schrödinger flow past an extended obstacle.

Supersonic flow of a superfluid past a slender impenetrable macroscopic obstacle is studied in the framework of the two-dimensional (2D) defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation. This problem is of fundamental importance as a dispersive analog of the corresponding classical gas-dynamics problem. Assuming the oncoming flow speed is sufficiently high, we asymptotically reduce the original boundary-value problem for a steady flow past a slender body to the one-dimensional dispersive piston problem described by the nonstationary NLS equation, in which the role of time is played by the stretched x coordinate and the piston motion curve is defined by the spatial body profile. Two steady oblique spatial dispersive shock waves (DSWs) spreading from the pointed ends of the body are generated in both half planes. These are described analytically by constructing appropriate exact solutions of the Whitham modulation equations for the front DSW and by using a generalized Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule for the oblique dark soliton fan in the rear DSW. We propose an extension of the traditional modulation description of DSWs to include the linear "ship-wave" pattern forming outside the nonlinear modulation region of the front DSW. Our analytic results are supported by direct 2D unsteady numerical simulations and are relevant to recent experiments on Bose-Einstein condensates freely expanding past obstacles.

Stabilization of solitons generated by a supersonic flow of Bose-Einstein condensate past an obstacle.

The stability of dark solitons generated by supersonic flow of a Bose-Einstein condensate past an obstacle is investigated. It is shown that in the reference frame attached to the obstacle a transition occurs at some critical value of the flow velocity from absolute instability of dark solitons to their convective instability. This leads to the decay of disturbances of solitons at a fixed distance from the obstacle and the formation of effectively stable dark solitons. This phenomenon explains the surprising stability of the flow picture that has been observed in numerical simulations.

Whitham method for the Benjamin-Ono-Burgers equation and dispersive shocks.

The Whitham modulation equations for the parameters of a periodic solution are derived using the generalized Lagrangian approach for the case of the damped Benjamin-Ono equation. The structure of the dispersive shock is considered in this method.