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We present an analytical model of integrable turbulence in the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger (fNLS) equation, generated by a one-parameter family of finite-band elliptic potentials in the semiclassical limit. We show that the spectrum of these potentials exhibits a thermodynamic band/gap scaling compatible with that of soliton and breather gases depending on the value of the elliptic parameter 𝑚 of the potential. We then demonstrate that, upon augmenting the potential by a small random noise (which is inevitably present in real physical systems), the solution of the fNLS equation evolves into a fully randomized, spatially homogeneous breather gas, a phenomenon we call breather gas fission. We show that the statistical properties of the breather gas at large times are determined by the spectral density of states generated by the unperturbed initial potential. We analytically compute the kurtosis of the breather gas as a function of the elliptic parameter 𝑚 , and we show that it is greater than 2 for all nonzero 𝑚 , implying non-Gaussian statistics. Finally, we verify the theoretical predictions by comparison with direct numerical simulations of the fNLS equation. These results establish a link between semiclassical limits of integrable systems and the statistical characterization of their soliton and breather gases. 

Abstract The semiclassical (small dispersion) limit of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation with periodic initial conditions (ICs) is studied analytically and numerically. First, through a comprehensive set of numerical simulations, it is demonstrated that solutions arising from a certain class of ICs, referred to as “periodic single‐lobe” potentials, share the same qualitative features, which also coincide with those of solutions arising from localized ICs. The spectrum of the associated scattering problem in each of these cases is then numerically computed, and it is shown that such spectrum is confined to the real and imaginary axes of the spectral variable in the semiclassical limit. This implies that all nonlinear excitations emerging from the input have zero velocity, and form a coherent nonlinear condensate. Finally, by employing a formal Wentzel‐Kramers‐Brillouin expansion for the scattering eigenfunctions, asymptotic expressions for the number and location of the bands and gaps in the spectrum are obtained, as well as corresponding expressions for the relative band widths and the number of “effective solitons.” These results are shown to be in excellent agreement with those from direct numerical computation of the eigenfunctions. In particular, a scaling law is obtained showing that the number of effective solitons is inversely proportional to the small dispersion parameter.