Kink solitons and optical shocks in dispersive nonlinear media

Abstract
The generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation governs wave propagation in nonlinear dispersive media by including the effects of group-velocity dispersion, self-phase-modulation, stimulated Raman scattering, and self-steepening. This equation is shown to have solitary-wave solutions that correspond to an optical shock front moving at the group velocity. The properties of such kink-type solitary waves are discussed.