Dynamics of solitons in the model of nonlinear Schrödinger equation with an external harmonic potential: II. Dark Solitons

The dynamics of dark solitons is studied within the framework of the mathematical model of nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NSE) with an external harmonic potential. A comparative analysis of the solutions of nonstationary problems is performed for a linear harmonic oscillator and the NSE model with a harmonic potential for different signs of the self-action potential. It is shown that the main specific feature of the dynamics of dark NSE solitons in a parabolic trap is the formation of solitons with dynamically changing form factors producing the periodic variation in the modulation depth (the degree of 'blackness') of dark solitons. The oscillation period of the dark soliton does not coincide with the oscillation period of a linear quantum-mechanical oscillator, which is caused by the periodic transformation of the black soliton to the grey one and vice versa. The conditions of applicability of the method of inverse scattering problem are presented, the generalised Lax pair is found, and exact soliton solutions are given for the mathematical NSE model with an external harmonic potential.