AbstractIn this article, a fifth-order dispersive nonlinear Schrödinger equation is investigated, which describes the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses, up to the attosecond duration, in an optical fibre. Rogue wave solutions are derived by virtue of the generalised Darboux transformation. Rogue wave structures and interaction are discussed through (i) the analyses on the higher-order rogue waves, the cubic, quartic, quintic, group-velocity, and phase-parameter effects; (ii) a higher-order rogue wave consisting of the first-order rogue waves via the interaction; (iii) characteristics of the rogue waves which are summarised, including the maximum/minimum values of the rogue waves and the number of the first-order rogue waves for composing the higher-order rogue wave; and (iv) spatial-temporal patterns which are illustrated and compared with those of the ‘self-focusing’ nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We find that the quintic terms increase the time of appearance for the first-order rogue waves which form the higher-order rogue wave, and that the quintic terms affect the interaction among the first-order rogue waves, which elongates the distance of appearance for the higher-order rogue wave.
Formation of rogue waves on the periodic background in a fifth-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation