Stability limits for modes held in alternating trapping-expulsive potentials

We elaborate a scheme of trapping-expulsion management (TEM), in the form of the quadratic potential periodically switching between confinement and expulsion, as a means of stabilization of two-dimensional dynamical states against the backdrop of the critical collapse driven by the cubic self-attraction with strength g. The TEM scheme may be implemented, as spatially or temporally periodic modulations, in optics or BEC, respectively. The consideration is carried out by dint of numerical simulations and variational approximation (VA). In terms of the VA, the dynamics amounts to a nonlinear Ermakov equation, which, in turn, is tantamount to a linear Mathieu equation. Stability boundaries are found as functions of g and parameters of the periodic modulation of the trapping potential. Below the usual collapse threshold, which is known, in the numerical form, c ??? 5.85 (in the standard notation), the stability is limited by the onset of the parametric resonance. This stability limit, including the setup with the self-repulsive sign of the cubic term (g 0), is accurately predicted by the VA. At g g(num) c , the collapse threshold is found with the help of full numerical simulations. The relative increase of gc above g(num) c is ???1.5%. It is a meaningful result, even if its size is small, because the collapse threshold is a universal constant which is difficult to change.

Automated summary

We propose a trapping-expulsion management (TEM) scheme to stabilize two-dimensional dynamical states against critical collapse driven by cubic self-attraction. The scheme can be implemented in optics or BEC through spatial or temporal periodic modulations. Numerical simulations and variational approximation are used to study the system. The stability boundaries are found as functions of the self-attraction strength and the parameters of the periodic modulation. Below the usual collapse threshold, stability is limited by the onset of parametric resonance. Above the collapse threshold, a new threshold is found through numerical simulations, with a relative increase of about 1.5% compared to the known threshold.