Integrable nonlocal Hirota equations

Abstract

We construct several new integrable systems corresponding to nonlocal versions of the Hirota equation, which is a particular example of higher order nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equations. The integrability of the new models is established by providing their explicit forms of Lax pairs or zero curvature conditions. The two compatibility equations arising in this construction are found to be related to each other either by a parity transformation $\mathcal{P}$, by a time reversal $\mathcal{T}$ or a $\mathcal{PT}$-transformation possibly combined with a conjugation. We construct explicit multi-soliton solutions for these models by employing Hirota's direct method as well as Darboux-Crum transformations. The nonlocal nature of these models allows for a modification of these solution procedures as the new systems also possess new types of solutions with different parameter dependence and different qualitative behaviour. The multi-soliton solutions are of varied type, being for instance nonlocal in space, nonlocal in time of time crystal type, regular with local structures either in time/space or of rogues wave type.