Speed-of-light pulses in the massless nonlinear Dirac equation with a potential

Abstract

We consider the massless nonlinear Dirac (NLD) equation in 1+1 dimension with scalar­ scalar self-interaction g² ̸ 2 (ψ ψ)² in the presence of three externa! electromagnetic real potentials V(x), a potential barrier, a constant potential, and a potential well. By solving numerically the NLD equation, we find different scenarios depending on initial conditions, namely, propagation of the initial pulse along one direction, splitting of the initial pulse into two pulses traveling in opposite directions, and focusing of two initial pulses followed by a splitting. For all considered cases, the final waves travel with the speed of light and are solutions of the massless linear Dirac equation. During these processes the charge and the energy are conserved, whereas the momentum is conserved when the solutions possess specific symmetries. For the case of the constant potential, we derive exact analytical solutions of the massless NLD equation that are also solutions of the massless linearized Dirac equation. Decay or growth of the initial pulse is also predicted from the evolution of the charge for the case of a non­ zero imaginary part of the potential.