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There are several versions of the damped form of the celebrated Pinney equation, which is the natural partner of the undamped time-dependent harmonic oscillator. In this work, these dissipative versions of the Pinney equation are briefly reviewed. We show that Noether’s theorem for the usual time-dependent harmonic oscillator as a guiding principle for derivation of the Pinney equation also works in the damped case, selecting a Noether symmetry-based damped Pinney equation. The results are extended to general nonlinear damped Ermakov systems. A certain time-rescaling always allows to remove the damping from the final equations.

The Ermakov–Milne–Pinney equation is ubiquitous in many areas of physics that have an explicit time-dependence, including quantum systems with time-dependent Hamiltonian, cosmology, time-dependent harmonic oscillators, accelerator dynamics, etc. The Eliezer and Gray physical interpretation of the Ermakov–Lewis invariant is applied as a guiding principle for the derivation of the special relativistic analog of the Ermakov–Milne–Pinney equation and associated first integral. The special relativistic extension of the Ray–Reid system and invariant is obtained. General properties of the relativistic Ermakov–Milne–Pinney are analyzed. The conservative case of the relativistic Ermakov–Milne–Pinney equation is described in terms of a pseudo-potential, reducing the problem to an effective Newtonian form. The non-relativistic limit is considered to be well. A relativistic nonlinear superposition law for relativistic Ermakov systems is identified. The generalized Ermakov–Milne–Pinney equation has additional nonlinearities, due to the relativistic effects.

We briefly review some recent advances in the field of nonlinear dynamics of atomic clouds in magneto-optical traps. A hydrodynamical model in a three-dimensional geometry is applied and analyzed using a variational approach. A Lagrangian density is proposed in the case where thermal and multiple scattering effects are both relevant, where the confinement damping and harmonic potential are both included. For generality, a general polytropic equation of state is assumed. After adopting a Gaussian profile for the fluid density and appropriate spatial dependencies of the scalar potential and potential fluid velocity field, a set of ordinary differential equations is derived. These equations are applied to compare cylindrical and spherical geometry approximations. The results are restricted to potential flows.

The one-dimensional Landau–Vlasov equation describing ultracold dilute bosonic gases in the mean-field collisionless regime under strong transverse confinement is analyzed using traditional methods of plasma physics. Time-independent, stationary solutions are found using a similar approach as for the Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal nonlinear plasma modes. Linear stationary waves similar to the Case–Van Kampen plasma normal modes are also shown to be available. The new bosonic solutions have no decaying or growth properties, in the same sense as the analog plasma solutions. The results are applied for real ultracold bosonic gases accessible in contemporary laboratory experiments.

The nonlinear dynamics of self-bound Bose–Einstein matter waves under the action of an attractive nonlocal and a repulsive local interaction is analyzed by means of a time-dependent variational formalism. The mean-field model described by the Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE) is reduced to a single second-order conservative ordinary differential equation admitting a potential function. The stable fixed points and the linear oscillation frequencies of the breather modes are determined. The chosen nonlocal interactions are a Gaussian-shaped potential and a van der Waals-like potential. The variational solutions are compared with direct numerical simulations of the GPE, for each of these nonlocalities. The spatio-temporal frequency spectra of linear waves are also determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article brings to light the fact that linearity is by itself a meaningful symmetry in the senses of Lie and Noether. First, the role played by that ‘linearity symmetry’ in the quadrature of linear second-order differential equations is revisited through the use of adapted variables and the identification of a conserved quantity as Lie invariant. Second, the celebrated Caldirola–Kanai Lagrangian—from which the differential equation is deducible—is shown to be naturally generated by a Jacobi last multiplier inherited from the linearity symmetry. Then, the latter is recognised to be also a Noether one. Finally, the study is extended to higher-order linear differential equations, derivable or not from an action principle. Incidentally, this work can serve as an introduction to the central question of continuous symmetries in physics and mathematics. It has the advantage of being approachable to undergraduate students since the linearity symmetry is by its very nature sufficiently simple to be treatable without any use of Lie generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A didactic and systematic derivation of Noether point symmetries and conserved currents is put forward in special relativistic field theories, without a priori assumptions about the transformation laws. Given the Lagrangian density, the invariance condition develops as a set of partial differential equations determining the symmetry transformation. The solution is provided in the case of real scalar, complex scalar, free electromagnetic, and charged electromagnetic fields. Besides the usual conservation laws, a less popular symmetry is analyzed: the symmetry associated with the linear superposition of solutions, whenever applicable. The role of gauge invariance is emphasized. The case of the charged scalar particle under external electromagnetic fields is considered, and the accompanying Noether point symmetries determined. Noether point symmetries for a dynamical system in extended gravity cosmology are also deduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]