Global search for localised modes in scalar and vector nonlinear Schr\"odinger-type equations

We present a new approach for search of coexisting classes of localised modes admitted by the repulsive (defocusing) scalar or vector nonlinear Schr\"odinger-type equations. The approach is based on the observation that generic solutions of the corresponding stationary system have singularities at finite points on the real axis. We start with establishing conditions on the initial data of the associated Cauchy problem that guarantee the formation of a singularity. Making use of these sufficient conditions, we identify the bounded, nonsingular, solutions --- and then classify them according to their asymptotic behaviour. To determine the bounded solutions, a properly chosen space of initial data is scanned numerically. Due to asymptotic or symmetry considerations, we can limit ourselves to a one- or two-dimensional space. For each set of initial conditions we compute the distances $X^{\pm}$ to the nearest forward and backward singularities; large $X^+$ or $X^-$ indicate the proximity to a bounded solution. We illustrate our method with the Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a $\PT$-symmetric complex potential, a system of coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations with real potentials, and the Lugiato-Lefever equation with normal dispersion.