Lax Pairs and Integrability Conditions of Higher-Order Nonlinear Schrödinger Equations

Abstract

We derive the Lax pairs and integrability conditions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with higher-order terms, complex potentials, and time-dependent coefficients. Cubic and quintic nonlinearities together with derivative terms are considered. The Lax pairs and integrability conditions for some of the well-known nonlinear Schrödinger equations, including a new equation which was not considered previously in the literature, are then derived as special cases. We show most clearly with a similarity transformation that the higher-order terms restrict the integrability to linear potential in contrast with quadratic potential for the standard nonlinear Schrödinger equation.