Self-trapping of electrons in ideal gases

Abstract
Solutions are obtained to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for an electron self-trapped in an ideal gas. The necessary conditions on density, temperature, and interaction strength for having such self-trapped states are expressed as a function of these variables. Solutions are obtained corresponding to stable, metastable, and unstable self-trapped states. A simple variational model is shown to reproduce the qualitative behavior of the solutions to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.