Threshold solutions for the focusing 3D cubic Schrödinger equation (Q971955)

This paper is devoted to the study of the focusing 3D cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) with \(H^1\) data, \[ i\partial_t u+\Delta u+|u|^2 u=0, u(x,t)=u_0\in H^1, x\in\mathbb{R}^3. \] More precisely, the authors study the long time dynamics (i.e., scattering and blow up in finite time) of the solutions at the mass-energy threshold, namely, when \(M[u_0] E[u_0]=M[Q] E[Q]\). Here \(Q\) is the ground state, which is the unique positive radial solution of the equation \(-Q+\Delta Q+|Q|^2Q=0\). This NLS is known to be locally well-posed in \(H^1\), and the solutions satisfy the energy and mass conservation laws \[ E[u](t)=\frac{1}{2}\int |\nabla u(x,t)|^2 dx -\frac{1}{4} \int |u(x,t)|^4 dx =E[u_0]\;, \] \[ M[u](t)=\int |u(x,t)|^2 dx =M[u_0]\;. \] In earlier works of \textit{J. Holmer} and \textit{S. Roudenko} [Commun. Math. Phys. 282, No. 2, 435--467 (2008; Zbl 1155.35094)] and \textit{T. Duyckaerts, J. Holmer} and \textit{S. Roudenko} [Math. Res. Lett. 15, No. 5--6, 1233--1250 (2008; Zbl 1171.35472)], the behavior of solutions was classified when \(M[u_0]E[u_0]< M[Q]E[Q]\). In this paper, the authors first exhibit 3 special solutions: \(e^{it}Q\) and \(Q_{\pm}\), where \(Q_{\pm}\) exponentially approach the ground state solution in the positive time direction, \(Q_+\) has finite time blow up and \(Q_-\) scatters in the negative time direction. Secondly, the authors classify solutions at this threshold and obtain that up to \(\dot H^{1/2}\) symmetries, they behave exactly as the above three special solutions, or scatter and blow up in both time directions as the solutions below the mass-energy threshold. These results are obtained by studying the spectral properties of the linearized Schrödinger operator in this mass-supercritical case, establishing relevant modulational stability and careful analysis of the exponentially decaying solutions to the linearized equation.