193 research outputs found
The effect of self-focusing on laser space-debris cleaning
A ground-based laser system for space-debris cleaning will use powerful laser pulses that can self-focus while propagating through the atmosphere. We demonstrate that for the relevant laser parameters, this self-focusing can noticeably decrease the laser intensity on the target. We show that the detrimental effect can be, to a great extent, compensated for by applying the optimal initial beam defocusing. The effect of laser elevation on the system performance is discussed
Light self-focusing in the atmosphere:thin window model
Ultra-high power (exceeding the self-focusing threshold by more than three orders of magnitude) light beams from ground-based laser systems may find applications in space-debris cleaning. The propagation of such powerful laser beams through the atmosphere reveals many novel interesting features compared to traditional light self-focusing. It is demonstrated here that for the relevant laser parameters, when the thickness of the atmosphere is much shorter than the focusing length (that is, of the orbit scale), the beam transit through the atmosphere in lowest order produces phase distortion only. This means that by using adaptive optics it may be possible to eliminate the impact of self-focusing in the atmosphere on the laser beam. The area of applicability of the proposed "thin window" model is broader than the specific physical problem considered here. For instance, it might find applications in femtosecond laser material processing
Exact vortex solutions in a CP^N Skyrme-Faddeev type model
We consider a four dimensional field theory with target space being CP^N
which constitutes a generalization of the usual Skyrme-Faddeev model defined on
CP^1. We show that it possesses an integrable sector presenting an infinite
number of local conservation laws, which are associated to the hidden
symmetries of the zero curvature representation of the theory in loop space. We
construct an infinite class of exact solutions for that integrable submodel
where the fields are meromorphic functions of the combinations (x^1+i x^2) and
(x^3+x^0) of the Cartesian coordinates of four dimensional Minkowski
space-time. Among those solutions we have static vortices and also vortices
with waves traveling along them with the speed of light. The energy per unity
of length of the vortices show an interesting and intricate interaction among
the vortices and waves.Comment: 21 pages, plain latex, no figure
Mode-locking via dissipative Faraday instability
Emergence of coherent structures and patterns at the nonlinear stage of modulation instability of a uniform state is an inherent feature of many biological, physical and engineering systems. There are several well-studied classical modulation instabilities, such as Benjamin-Feir, Turing and Faraday instability, which play a critical role in the self-organization of energy and matter in non-equilibrium physical, chemical and biological systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate the dissipative Faraday instability induced by spatially periodic zig-zag modulation of a dissipative parameter of the system - spectrally dependent losses - achieving generation of temporal patterns and high-harmonic mode-locking in a fibre laser. We demonstrate features of this instability that distinguish it from both the Benjamin-Feir and the purely dispersive Faraday instability. Our results open the possibilities for new designs of mode-locked lasers and can be extended to other fields of physics and engineering
Long-Time Asymptotics for the Korteweg-de Vries Equation via Nonlinear Steepest Descent
We apply the method of nonlinear steepest descent to compute the long-time
asymptotics of the Korteweg-de Vries equation for decaying initial data in the
soliton and similarity region. This paper can be viewed as an expository
introduction to this method.Comment: 31 page
Classical and Quantum Solitons in the Symmetric Space Sine-Gordon Theories
We construct the soliton solutions in the symmetric space sine-Gordon
theories. The latter are a series of integrable field theories in
1+1-dimensions which are associated to a symmetric space F/G, and are related
via the Pohlmeyer reduction to theories of strings moving on symmetric spaces.
We show that the solitons are kinks that carry an internal moduli space that
can be identified with a particular co-adjoint orbit of the unbroken subgroup H
of G. Classically the solitons come in a continuous spectrum which encompasses
the perturbative fluctuations of the theory as the kink charge becomes small.
We show that the solitons can be quantized by allowing the collective
coordinates to be time-dependent to yield a form of quantum mechanics on the
co-adjoint orbit. The quantum states correspond to symmetric tensor
representations of the symmetry group H and have the interpretation of a fuzzy
geometric version of the co-adjoint orbit. The quantized finite tower of
soliton states includes the perturbative modes at the base.Comment: 53 pages, additional comments and small errors corrected, final
journal versio
Gain through losses in nonlinear optics
Instabilities of uniform states are ubiquitous processes occurring in a variety of spatially extended nonlinear systems. These instabilities are at the heart of symmetry breaking, condensate dynamics, self-organization, pattern formation and noise amplification across diverse disciplines, including physics, chemistry, engineering and biology. In nonlinear optics, modulation instabilities are generally linked to the so-called parametric amplification process, which occurs when certain phase-matching or quasi-phase-matching conditions are satisfied. In the present review article, we summarize the principle results on modulation instabilities and parametric amplification in nonlinear optics, with special emphasis on optical fibres. We then review state-of-the-art research about a peculiar class of modulation instabilities and signal amplification processes induced by dissipation in nonlinear optical systems. Losses applied to certain parts of the spectrum counterintuitively lead to the exponential growth of the damped mode themselves, causing gain through losses. We discuss the concept of imaging of losses into gain, showing how to map a given spectral loss profile into a gain spectrum. We demonstrate with concrete examples that dissipation-induced modulation instability, apart from being of fundamental theoretical interest, may pave the way towards the design of a new class of tuneable fibre-based optical amplifiers, optical parametric oscillators, frequency comb sources and pulsed lasers
Working Group Report: Heavy-Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma
This is the report of Heavy Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma at WHEPP-09
which was part of Working Group-4. Discussion and work on some aspects of
Quark-Gluon Plasma believed to have created in heavy-ion collisions and in
early universe are reported.Comment: 20 pages, 6 eps figures, Heavy-ion physics and QGP activity report in
"IX Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-09)" held in
Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India, during January 3-14, 2006. To be
published in PRAMANA - Journal of Physics (Indian Academy of Science
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