Closed-Form Density of States and Localization Length for a Non-Hermitian Disordered System

We calculate the Lyapunov exponent for the non-Hermitian Zakharov-Shabat eigenvalue problem corresponding to the attractive non-linear Schrödinger equation with a Gaussian random pulse as initial value function. Using an extension of the Thouless formula to non-Hermitian random operators, we calculate the corresponding average density of states. We also calculate the distribution of a set of scattering data of the Zakharov-Shabat operator that determine the asymptotics of the eigenfunctions. We analyze two cases, one with circularly symmetric complex Gaussian pulses and the other with real Gaussian pulses. We discuss the implications in the context of information transmission through non-linear optical fibers.