Nonlinear three-state quantum walks

The dynamics of a three-state quantum walk with amplitude-dependent phase shifts is investigated. We consider two representative inputs whose linear evolution is known to display either full dispersion of the wave packet or intrinsic localization on the initial position. The nonlinear counterpart presents much more involved dynamics featuring self-trapping, solitonic pulses, radiation, and chaoticlike behavior. We show that nonlinearity leads to a metastable self-trapped wave-packet component that radiates in the long-time regime with a survival probability proportional to t-1/2. A sudden dynamical transition from such a metastable state to the point when the radiation process is triggered is found for a set of parameters.