Self-similar solutions of the generalized Schrodinger equation with distributed coefficients

We present approximate but nevertheless highly accurate self-similar solutions to the generalized linear Schrodinger Equation appropriate to the description of pulse propagation in an optical fibre under the influence of distributed dispersion and gain or attenuation. These new similariton solutions apply for any shape of linearly chirped pulse for any dispersion and gain profiles and are indistinguishable from numerically generated solutions in the majority of practical applications. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.