Parity-time-symmetric solitons in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates and the influence of varying complex potentials: A variational approach

Dynamics and properties of nonlinear matter waves in a trapped BEC subject to a PT-symmetric linear potential, with the trap in the form of a super-Gaussian potential, are investigated via a variational approach accounting for the complex nature of the soliton. In the process, we address how the shape of the imaginary part of the potential, that is, a gain-loss mechanism, affects the self-localization and the stability of the condensate. Variational results are found to be in good agreement with full numerical simulations for predicting the shape, width, and chemical potential of the condensate until the PT breaking point. Variational computation also predicts the existence of solitary solution only above a threshold in the particle number as the gain-loss is increased, in agreement with numerical simulations.