  We examine coherent memory manipulation in a $\Lambda$-type medium, using the
second order solution presented by Groves, Clader and Eberly [J. Phys. B: At.
Mol. Opt. Phys. 46, 224005 (2013)] as a guide. The analytical solution obtained
using the Darboux transformation and a nonlinear superposition principle
describes complicated soliton-pulse dynamics which, by an appropriate choice of
parameters, can be simplified to a well-defined sequence of pulses interacting
with the medium. In this report, this solution is reviewed and put to test by
means of a series of numerical simulations, encompassing all the parameter
space and adding the effects of homogeneous broadening due to spontaneous
emission. We find that even though the decohered results deviate from the
analytical prediction they do follow a similar trend that could be used as a
guide for future experiments.
