nonlinear Schrödinger equation

nonlinear Schrödinger equation

[¦nän‚lin·ē·ər ′shrād·iŋ·ər i‚kwā·zhən]

(optics)

A special form into which the Maxwell equations can be transformed in a medium with an optical nonlinearity that gives rise to self-action effects; this equation resembles the Schrödinger equation of quantum mechanics with the potential term in the latter equation replaced by a nonlinear term proportional to the local intensity of the light field, and it possesses soliton solutions.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.