Solitons in a Hamiltonian $PT$-symmetric coupler

We introduce a nonlinear parity-time-symmetric dispersive coupler which admits Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formulations. We show that, in spite of the gain and dissipation, the model has several conservation laws. The system also supports a variety of exact solutions. We focus on exact bright solitons and demonstrate numerically that they are dynamically stable in a wide parameter range and undergo elastic interactions, thus manifesting nearly-integrable dynamics. Physical applications of the introduced model in the theory of Bose–Einstein condensates in nonlinear lattices are discussed. (paper)