On an inverse scattering transform for the nonlinear Schödinger equation on the half-line

Abstract

In this paper, we develop an inverse scattering transform for the integrable focusing nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation on the half-line subject to a class of boundary conditions. The method is based on the notions of integrable boundary conditions and double-row monodromy matrix, developed by Sklyanin, which characterize initial-boundary value problems for NLS on an interval. It follows from Sklyanin's approach that a hierarchy of integrable boundary conditions can be derived based on a semi-discrete type Lax pair involving the time-part Lax matrix of NLS and a reflection matrix. The inverse scattering transform relies on the formulation of a scattering system for the double-row monodromy matrix characterizing an interval problem. The scattering system for the half-line problem for NLS is obtained by extending one endpoint of the interval to infinity. Then, we derive spectral and analytic properties of the scattering systems, and set up the inverse part using a Riemann-Hilbert formulation. We also show that our approach is equivalent to a nonlinear method of reflection by extending the initial-boundary value problem on the half-line to an initial value on the whole axis. Explicit examples of soliton solutions on the half-line are provided. Although we only consider the NLS model as a particular example, the method we present in this paper can be readily applied to a wide range of integrable PDEs on the half-line.