Evolution of optical solitary waves in a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation with variable coefficients

We derive two types of exact analytical solutions in terms of rational-like functions for a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation with variable coefficients via the methods of similarity transformation and direct ansatz. Based on these solutions, several novel optical solitary waves are constructed by selecting appropriate functions, and the main evolution features of these waves are shown by some interesting figures with computer simulation.