1,930 research outputs found
Phase-space structure of two-dimensional excitable localized structures
In this work we characterize in detail the bifurcation leading to an
excitable regime mediated by localized structures in a dissipative nonlinear
Kerr cavity with a homogeneous pump. Here we show how the route can be
understood through a planar dynamical system in which a limit cycle becomes the
homoclinic orbit of a saddle point (saddle-loop bifurcation). The whole picture
is unveiled, and the mechanism by which this reduction occurs from the full
infinite-dimensional dynamical system is studied. Finally, it is shown that the
bifurcation leads to an excitability regime, under the application of suitable
perturbations. Excitability is an emergent property for this system, as it
emerges from the spatial dependence since the system does not exhibit any
excitable behavior locally.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Self-pulsing dynamics in a cavity soliton laser
The dynamics of a broad-area vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with frequency-selective feedback supporting bistable spatial solitons is analyzed experimentally and theoretically. The transient dynamics of a switch-on of a soliton induced by an external optical pulse shows strong self-pulsing at the external-cavity round-trip time with at least ten modes excited. The numerical analysis indicates an even broader bandwidth and a transient sweep of the center frequency. It is argued that mode-locking of spatial solitons is an interesting and viable way to achieve three-dimensional, spatio-temporal self-localization and that the transients observed are preliminary indications of a transient cavity light bullet in the dynamics, though on a non negligible background
The Emergence of the Scottish Broadside Ballad in the Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries
Frequency and phase locking of laser cavity solitons
Self-localized states or dissipative solitons have the freedom of translation in systems with a homogeneous background. When compared to cavity solitons in coherently driven nonlinear optical systems, laser cavity solitons have the additional freedom of the optical phase. We explore the consequences of this additional Goldstone mode and analyse experimentally and numerically frequency and phase locking of laser cavity solitons in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with frequency-selective feedback. Due to growth-related variations of the cavity resonance, the translational symmetry is usually broken in real devices. Pinning to different defects means that separate laser cavity solitons have different frequencies and are mutually incoherent. If two solitons are close to each other, however, their interaction leads to synchronization due to phase and frequency locking with strong similarities to the Adler-scenario of coupled oscillators
Cognitive ability experiment with photosensitive organic molecular thin films
We present an optical experiment which permits to evaluate the information
exchange necessary to self-induce cooperatively a well-organized pattern in a
randomly activated molecular assembly. A low-power coherent beam carrying
polarization and wavelength information is used to organize a surface relief
grating on a photochromic polymer thin film which is photo-activated by a
powerful incoherent beam. We demonstrate experimentally that less than 1% of
the molecules possessing information cooperatively transmit it to the entire
photo-activated polymer film.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Large optical gain from four-wave mixing instabilities in semiconductor quantum wells
Based on a microscopic many-particle theory, we predict large optical gain in
the probe and background-free four-wave mixing directions caused by excitonic
instabilities in semiconductor quantum wells. For a single quantum well with
radiative-decay limited dephasing in a typical pump-probe setup we discuss the
microscopic driving mechanisms and polarization and frequency dependence of
these instabilities
Coupled-mode theory for photonic band-gap inhibition of spatial instabilities
We study the inhibition of pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems using intracavity photonic crystals. We consider mean-field models for singly and doubly degenerate optical parametric oscillators. Analytical expressions for the new (higher) modulational thresholds and the size of the "band gap" as a function of the system and photonic crystal parameters are obtained via a coupled-mode theory. Then, by means of a nonlinear analysis, we derive amplitude equations for the unstable modes and find the stationary solutions above threshold. The form of the unstable mode is different in the lower and upper parts of the band gap. In each part there is bistability between two spatially shifted patterns. In large systems stable wall defects between the two solutions are formed and we provide analytical expressions for their shape. The analytical results are favorably compared with results obtained from the full system equations. Inhibition of pattern formation can be used to spatially control signal generation in the transverse plane
Spatial correlations in hexagons generated via a Kerr nonlinearity
We consider the hexagonal pattern forming in the cross-section of an optical
beam produced by a Kerr cavity, and we study the quantum correlations
characterizing this structure. By using arguments related to the symmetry
broken by the pattern formation, we identify a complete scenario of six-mode
entanglement. Five independent phase quadratures combinations, connecting the
hexagonal modes, are shown to exhibit sub-shot-noise fluctuations. By means of
a non-linear quantum calculation technique, quantum correlations among the mode
photon numbers are demonstrated and calculated.Comment: ReVTeX file, 20 pages, 7 eps figure
Frequency selection by soliton excitation in nondegenerate intracavity downconversion
We show that soliton excitation in intracavity downconversion naturally
selects a strictly defined frequency difference between the signal and idler
fields. In particular, this phenomenon implies that if the signal has smaller
losses than the idler then its frequency is pulled away from the cavity
resonance and the idler frequency is pulled towards the resonance and {\em vice
versa}. The frequency selection is shown to be closely linked with the relative
energy balance between the idler and signal fields.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Phys Rev Let
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