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Abstract The complex coupled short‐pulse equation (ccSPE) describes the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in nonlinear birefringent fibers. The system admits a variety of vector soliton solutions: fundamental solitons, fundamental breathers, composite breathers (generic or nongeneric), as well as so‐called self‐symmetric composite solitons. In this work, we use the dressing method and the Darboux matrices corresponding to the various types of solitons to investigate soliton interactions in the focusing ccSPE. The study combines refactorization problems on generators of certain rational loop groups, and long‐time asymptotics of these generators, as well as the main refactorization theorem for the dressing factors that leads to the Yang–Baxter property for the refactorization map and the vector soliton interactions. Among the results obtained in this paper, we derive explicit formulas for the polarization shift of fundamental solitons that are the analog of the well‐known formulas for the interaction of vector solitons in the Manakov system. Our study also reveals that upon interacting with a fundamental breather, a fundamental soliton becomes a fundamental breather and, conversely, that the interaction of two fundamental breathers generically yields two fundamental breathers with a polarization shifts, but may also result into a fundamental soliton and a fundamental breather. Explicit formulas for the coefficients that characterize the fundamental breathers, as well as for their polarization vectors are obtained. The interactions of other types of solitons are also derived and discussed in detail and illustrated with plots. New Yang–Baxter maps are obtained in the process.
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Spatio-temporal breather dynamics in microcomb soliton crystals
Abstract Solitons, the distinct balance between nonlinearity and dispersion, provide a route toward ultrafast electromagnetic pulse shaping, high-harmonic generation, real-time image processing, and RF photonic communications. Here we uniquely explore and observe the spatio-temporal breather dynamics of optical soliton crystals in frequency microcombs, examining spatial breathers, chaos transitions, and dynamical deterministic switching – in nonlinear measurements and theory. To understand the breather solitons, we describe their dynamical routes and two example transitional maps of the ensemble spatial breathers, with and without chaos initiation. We elucidate the physical mechanisms of the breather dynamics in the soliton crystal microcombs, in the interaction plane limit cycles and in the domain-wall understanding with parity symmetry breaking from third-order dispersion. We present maps of the accessible nonlinear regions, the breather frequency dependences on third-order dispersion and avoided-mode crossing strengths, and the transition between the collective breather spatio-temporal states. Our range of measurements matches well with our first-principles theory and nonlinear modeling. To image these soliton ensembles and their breathers, we further constructed panoramic temporal imaging for simultaneous fast- and slow-axis two-dimensional mapping of the breathers. In the phase-differential sampling, we present two-dimensional evolution maps of soliton crystal breathers, including with defects, in both stable breathers and breathers with drift. Our fundamental studies contribute to the understanding of nonlinear dynamics in soliton crystal complexes, their spatio-temporal dependences, and their stability-existence zones.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2231097
- PAR ID:
- 10543857
- Publisher / Repository:
- Light: Science & Applications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Light: Science & Applications
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2047-7538
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01573-4
