Nonlinear states of the conservative complex Swift–Hohenberg equation

We consider the conservative complex Swift–Hohenberg equation, which belongs to the family of nonlinear fourth-order dispersive Schrödinger equations. In contrast to the well-studied one-dimensional dissipative Swift–Hohenberg equation, the complex variant introduces a wide array of largely unexplored solutions. Our study provides a fundamental step in understanding the complex characteristics of this equation, particularly for typical classes of solutions-uniform, periodic, and localized states-and their relationship with the original dissipative model. Our findings reveal significant differences between the two models. For instance, uniform solutions in the conservative model are inherently unstable, and periodic solutions are generally unstable except within a narrow parameter interval that supports multiple localized states. Furthermore, we establish a generalized Vakhitov–Kolokolov criterion to determine the stability of localized states in the conservative equation and relate it to the stability properties of the dissipative counterpart.