Global dynamics above the first excited energy for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a potential (Q2364579)

This paper addresses a three-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation, with the self-attractive cubic nonlinear term and a trapping isotropic potential. It is assumed that, in the linear limit, the potential supports a single bound state (i.e., the ground state), but the full nonlinear equation also supports higher-order (excited) bound states. The particular objective of the work is to consider the evolution of an initial isotropic state whose energy slightly exceeds the eigenvalues corresponding to the first excited state. By means of a rigorous analysis, different types of evolution of such an input are identified. In particular, they include evolution back to the stable ground state, through shedding off he excessive energy in the form of radiation emitted to infinity, and, on the other side, collapse of the input towards a singularity (a manifestation of the supercritical collapse, characteristic to the three-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation).