Discrete Solitons of the Ginzburg-Landau Equation

In this chapter we review recent results concerning localized and extended dissipative solutions of the discrete complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. In particular, we discuss discrete diffraction effects arising both from linear and nonlinear properties, the existence of self-localized dissipative solitons in the presence of cubic-quintic terms and modulational instability induced by saturable nonlinearities. Dynamical stability properties of localized and extended dissipative discrete solitons are also discussed.