Optical Random Riemann Waves in Integrable Turbulence

We examine integrable turbulence (IT) in the framework of the defocusing cubic one-dimensional nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation. This is done theoretically and experimentally, by realizing an optical fiber experiment in which the defocusing Kerr nonlinearity strongly dominates linear dispersive effects. Using a dispersive-hydrodynamic approach, we show that the development of IT can be divided into two distinct stages, the initial, pre-breaking stage being described by a system of interacting random Riemann waves. We explain the low-tailed statistics of the wave intensity in IT and show that the Riemann invariants of the asymptotic nonlinear geometric optics system represent the observable quantities that provide new insight into statistical features of the initial stage of the IT development by exhibiting stationary probability density functions

Nonlinear spectral analysis of Peregrine solitons observed in optics and in hydrodynamic experiments

The data recorded in optical fiber [1] and in hydrodynamic [2] experiments reported the pioneering observation of nonlinear waves with spatiotemporal localization similar to the Peregrine soliton are examined by using nonlinear spectral analysis. Our approach is based on the integrable nature of the one-dimensional focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation (1D-NLSE) that governs at leading order the propagation of the optical and hydrodynamic waves in the two experiments. Nonlinear spectral analysis provides certain spectral portraits of the analyzed structures that are composed of bands lying in the complex plane. The spectral portraits can be interpreted within the framework of the so-called finite gap theory (or periodic inverse scattering transform). In particular, the number N of bands composing the nonlinear spectrum determines the genus g = N - 1 of the solution that can be viewed as a measure of complexity of the space-time evolution of the considered solution. Within this setting the ideal, rational Peregrine soliton represents a special, degenerate genus 2 solution. While the fitting procedures employed in [1] and [2] show that the experimentally observed structures are quite well approximated by the Peregrine solitons, nonlinear spectral analysis of the breathers observed both in the optical fiber and in the water tank experiments reveals that they exhibit spectral portraits associated with more general, genus 4 finite-gap NLSE solutions. Moreover, the nonlinear spectral analysis shows that the nonlinear spectrum of the breathers observed in the experiments slowly changes with the propagation distance, thus confirming the influence of unavoidable perturbative higher order effects or dissipation in the experiments

Spontaneous emergence of rogue waves in partially coherent waves: a quantitative experimental comparison between hydrodynamics and optics

Rogue waves are extreme and rare fluctuations of the wave field that have been discussed in many physical systems. Their presence substantially influences the statistical properties of an incoherent wave field. Their understanding is fundamental for the design of ships and offshore platforms. Except for very particular meteorological conditions, waves in the ocean are characterised by the so-called JONSWAP (Joint North Sea Wave Project) spectrum. Here we compare two unique experimental results: the first one has been performed in a 270-meter wave tank and the other in optical fibers. In both cases, waves characterised by a JONSWAP spectrum and random Fourier phases have been launched at the input of the experimental device. The quantitative comparison, based on an appropriate scaling of the two experiments, shows a very good agreement between the statistics in hydrodynamics and optics. Spontaneous emergence of heavy tails in the probability density function of the wave amplitude is observed in both systems. The results demonstrate the universal features of rogue waves and provide a fundamental and explicit bridge between two important fields of research. Numerical simulations are also compared with experimental results

Optical random Riemann waves in integrable turbulence

We examine integrable turbulence (IT) in the framework of the defocusing cubic one-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation. This is done theoretically and experimentally, by realizing an optical fiber experiment in which the defocusing Kerr nonlinearity strongly dominates linear dispersive effects. Using a dispersive-hydrodynamic approach, we show that the development of IT can be divided into two distinct stages, the initial, pre-breaking stage being described by a system of interacting random Riemann waves. We explain the low-tailed statistics of the wave intensity in IT and show that the Riemann invariants of the asymptotic nonlinear geometric optics system represent the observable quantities that provide new insight into statistical features of the initial stage of the IT development by exhibiting stationary probability density functions

Soliton Gas: Theory, Numerics and Experiments

The concept of soliton gas was introduced in 1971 by V. Zakharov as an infinite collection of weakly interacting solitons in the framework of Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. In this theoretical construction of a diluted soliton gas, solitons with random parameters are almost non-overlapping. More recently, the concept has been extended to dense gases in which solitons strongly and continuously interact. The notion of soliton gas is inherently associated with integrable wave systems described by nonlinear partial differential equations like the KdV equation or the one-dimensional nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation that can be solved using the inverse scattering transform. Over the last few years, the field of soliton gases has received a rapidly growing interest from both the theoretical and experimental points of view. In particular, it has been realized that the soliton gas dynamics underlies some fundamental nonlinear wave phenomena such as spontaneous modulation instability and the formation of rogue waves. The recently discovered deep connections of soliton gas theory with generalized hydrodynamics have broadened the field and opened new fundamental questions related to the soliton gas statistics and thermodynamics. We review the main recent theoretical and experimental results in the field of soliton gas. The key conceptual tools of the field, such as the inverse scattering transform, the thermodynamic limit of finite-gap potentials and the Generalized Gibbs Ensembles are introduced and various open questions and future challenges are discussed.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figure

On the origin of heavy-tail statistics in equations of the Nonlinear Schrodinger type

We study the formation of extreme events in incoherent systems described by the Nonlinear Schrödinger type of equations. We consider an exact identity that relates the evolution of the normalized fourth-order moment of the probability density function of the wave envelope to the rate of change of the width of the Fourier spectrum of the wave field. We show that, given an initial condition characterized by some distribution of the wave envelope, an increase of the spectral bandwidth in the focusing/defocusing regime leads to an increase/decrease of the probability of formation of rogue waves. Extensive numerical simulations in 1D+1 and 2D+1 are also performed to confirm the results