Solitons in random media with long-range correlation

Abstract

A statistical approach of the propagation of solitons in media with a spatially random potential is developed. Applying the inverse scattering transform several regimes are demonstrated which are determined by the mass and the velocity of the incoming soliton as well as by the correlation length of the random potential. Namely, the mass of the soliton is conserved if its initial amplitude is large enough. If the initial mass is small, then the mass decays with the length of the system. The decay rate is exponential in the case of a white noise perturbation, but it obeys a power law if the carrier wavenumber of the soliton lies in the tail of the spectrum of the potential. Furthermore, the scattered radiation propagates in a backward direction in the case of a white noise perturbation, while it propagates in a forward direction (with the same carrier wavenumber as the soliton) in the case of a coloured noise with long-range correlation.