Collision and fusion of counterpropagating micron-sized optical beams in non-uniformly biased photorefractive crystals

We theoretically investigate collision of optical beams travelling in opposite directions through a centrosymmetric photorefractive crystal biased by a spatially non-uniform voltage. We analytically predict the fusion of counterpropagating solitons in conditions in which the applied voltage is rapidly modulated along the propagation axis, so that self-bending is suppressed by the "restoring symmetry" mechanism. Moreover, when the applied voltage is slowly modulated, we predict that the modified self-bending allows conditions in which the two beams fuse together, forming a curved light-channel splice.Comment: 12 page

Designing a Broadband Pump for High-Quality Micro-Lasers via Modified Net Radiation Method

High-quality micro-lasers are key ingredients in non-linear optics, communication, sensing and low-threshold solar-pumped lasers. However, such micro-lasers exhibit negligible absorption of free-space broadband pump light. Recently, this limitation was lifted by cascade energy transfer, in which the absorption and quality factor are modulated with wavelength, enabling non-resonant pumping of high-quality micro-lasers and solar-pumped laser to operate at record low solar concentration. Here, we present a generic theoretical framework for modeling the absorption, emission and energy transfer of incoherent radiation between cascade sensitizer and laser gain media. Our model is based on linear equations of the modified net radiation method and is therefore robust, fast converging and has low complexity. We apply this formalism to compute the optimal parameters of low-threshold solar-pumped lasers. It is revealed that the interplay between the absorption and self-absorption of such lasers defines the optimal pump absorption below the maximal value, which is in contrast to conventional lasers for which full pump absorption is desired. Numerical results are compared to experimental data on a sensitized Nd[superscript 3+]:YAG cavity, and quantitative agreement with theoretical models is found. Our work modularizes the gain and sensitizing components and paves the way for the optimal design of broadband-pumped high-quality micro-lasers and efficient solar-pumped lasers.Russell Berrie Nanotechnology InstituteTechnion, Israel Institute of Technology. Grand Technion Energy ProgramIsrael Strategic Alternative Energy Foundatio

Lattice-supported surface solitons in nonlocal nonlinear media

We reveal that lattice interfaces imprinted in nonlocal nonlinear media support surface solitons that do not exist in other similar settings, including interfaces of local and nonlocal uniform materials. We show the impact of nonlocality on the domains of existence and stability of the surface solitons, focusing on new types of dipole solitons residing partially inside the optical lattice. We find that such solitons feature strongly asymmetric shapes and that they are stable in large parts of their existence domain.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Optics Letter

Propagation of solitons in thermal media with periodic nonlinearity

We address the existence and properties of solitons in layered thermal media made of alternating focusing and defocusing layers. Such structures support robust bright solitons even if the averaged nonlinearity is defocusing. We show that non-oscillating solitons may form in any of the focusing domains, even in those located close to the sample edge, in contrast to uniform thermal media where light beams always oscillate when not launched exactly on the sample center. Stable multipole solitons may include more than four spots in layered media.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Optics Letter

Generalization of Kirchhoff's Law of Thermal Radiation: The Inherent Relations Between Quantum Efficiency and Emissivity

Planck's law of thermal radiation depends on the temperature, $T$, and the emissivity, $\epsilon$, of a body, where emissivity is the coupling of heat to radiation that depends on both phonon-electron nonradiative interactions and electron-photon radiative interactions. Another property of a body is absorptivity, $\alpha$, which only depends on the electron-photon radiative interactions. At thermodynamic equilibrium, nonradiative interactions are balanced, resulting in Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation that equals these two properties, i.e., $\epsilon = \alpha$. For non-equilibrium, quantum efficiency ($QE$) describes the statistics of photon emission, which like emissivity depends on both radiative and nonradiative interactions. Past generalized Planck's equation extends Kirchhoff's law out of equilibrium by scaling the emissivity with the pump-dependent chemical-potential $\mu$, obscuring the relations between the body properties. Here we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a prime equation relating these properties in the form of $\epsilon = \alpha(1-QE)$, which is in agreement with a recent universal modal radiation law for all thermal emitters. At equilibrium, these relations are reduced to Kirchhoff's law. Our work lays out the fundamental evolution of non-thermal emission with temperature, which is critical for the development of lighting and energy devices.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2104.1013

Studying the accretion geometry of EXO 2030+375 at luminosities close to the propeller regime

The Be X-ray binary EXO 2030+375 was in an extended low luminosity state during most of 2016. We observed this state with NuSTAR and Swift, supported by INTEGRAL observations as well as optical spectroscopy with the NOT. We present a comprehensive spectral and timing analysis of these data here to study the accretion geometry and investigate a possible onset of the propeller effect. The H-alpha data show that the circumstellar disk of the Be-star is still present. We measure equivalent widths similar to values found during more active phases in the past, indicating that the low-luminosity state is not simply triggered by a smaller Be disk. The NuSTAR data, taken at a 3-78 keV luminosity of ~6.8e35 erg/s (for a distance of 7.1 kpc), are well described by standard accreting pulsar models, such as an absorbed power-law with a high-energy cutoff. We find that pulsations are still clearly visible at these luminosities, indicating that accretion is continuing despite the very low mass transfer rate. In phase-resolved spectroscopy we find a peculiar variation of the photon index from ~1.5 to ~2.5 over only about 3% of the rotational period. This variation is similar to that observed with XMM-Newton at much higher luminosities. It may be connected to the accretion column passing through our line of sight. With Swift/XRT we observe luminosities as low as 1e34 erg/s during which the data quality did not allow us to search for pulsations, but the spectrum is much softer and well described by either a blackbody or soft power-law continuum. This softer spectrum might be due to the fact that accretion has been stopped by the propeller effect and we only observe the neutron star surface cooling.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (v2 including language edits

Tracking azimuthons in nonlocal nonlinear media

We study the formation of azimuthons, i.e., rotating spatial solitons, in media with nonlocal focusing nonlinearity. We show that whole families of these solutions can be found by considering internal modes of classical non-rotating stationary solutions, namely vortex solitons. This offers an exhaustive method to identify azimuthons in a given nonlocal medium. We demonstrate formation of azimuthons of different vorticities and explain their properties by considering the strongly nonlocal limit of accessible solitons.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Multipole vector solitons in nonlocal nonlinear media

We show that multipole solitons can be made stable via vectorial coupling in bulk nonlocal nonlinear media. Such vector solitons are composed of mutually incoherent nodeless and multipole components jointly inducing a nonlinear refractive index profile. We found that stabilization of the otherwise highly unstable multipoles occurs below a maximum energy flow. Such threshold is determined by the nonlocality degree.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Optics Letter

Nonlinear vortex light beams supported and stabilized by dissipation

We describe nonlinear Bessel vortex beams as localized and stationary solutions with embedded vorticity to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with a dissipative term that accounts for the multi-photon absorption processes taking place at high enough powers in common optical media. In these beams, power and orbital angular momentum are permanently transferred to matter in the inner, nonlinear rings, at the same time that they are refueled by spiral inward currents of energy and angular momentum coming from the outer linear rings, acting as an intrinsic reservoir. Unlike vortex solitons and dissipative vortex solitons, the existence of these vortex beams does not critically depend on the precise form of the dispersive nonlinearities, as Kerr self-focusing or self-defocusing, and do not require a balancing gain. They have been shown to play a prominent role in "tubular" filamentation experiments with powerful, vortex-carrying Bessel beams, where they act as attractors in the beam propagation dynamics. Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams provide indeed a new solution to the problem of the stable propagation of ring-shaped vortex light beams in homogeneous self-focusing Kerr media. A stability analysis demonstrates that there exist nonlinear Bessel vortex beams with single or multiple vorticity that are stable against azimuthal breakup and collapse, and that the mechanism that renders these vortexes stable is dissipation. The stability properties of nonlinear Bessel vortex beams explain the experimental observations in the tubular filamentation experiments.Comment: Chapter of boo