Inverse Scattering Transform for the Focusing Ablowitz-Ladik System with Nonzero Boundary Conditions

The purpose of this paper is to construct the inverse scattering transform for the focusing Ablowitz-Ladik equation with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity. Both the direct and the inverse problems are formulated in terms of a suitable uniform variable; the inverse problem is posed as a Riemann-Hilbert problem on a doubly connected curve in the complex plane, and solved by properly accounting for the asymptotic dependence of eigenfunctions and scattering data on the Ablowitz-Ladik potential.