Crossover from two-frequency pulse compounds to escaping solitons

authored by
O. Melchert, S. Willms, U. Morgner, I. Babushkin, A. Demircan
Abstract

The nonlinear interaction of copropagating optical solitons enables a large variety of intriguing bound-states of light. We here investigate the interaction dynamics of two initially superimposed fundamental solitons at distinctly different frequencies. Both pulses are located in distinct domains of anomalous dispersion, separated by an interjacent domain of normal dispersion, so that group velocity matching can be achieved despite a vast frequency gap. We demonstrate the existence of two regions with different dynamical behavior. For small velocity mismatch we observe a domain in which a single heteronuclear pulse compound is formed, which is distinct from the usual concept of soliton molecules. The binding mechanism is realized by the mutual cross phase modulation of the interacting pulses. For large velocity mismatch both pulses escape their mutual binding and move away from each other. The crossover phase between these two cases exhibits two localized states with different velocity, consisting of a strong trapping pulse and weak trapped pulse. We detail a simplified theoretical approach which accurately estimates the parameter range in which compound states are formed. This trapping-to-escape transition allows to study the limits of pulse-bonding as a fundamental phenomenon in nonlinear optics, opening up new perspectives for the all-optical manipulation of light by light.

Organisation(s)
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines
Institute of Quantum Optics
Hannover Centre for Optical Technologies (HOT)
QuantumFrontiers
Type
Article
Journal
Scientific reports
Volume
11
ISSN
2045-2322
Publication date
27.05.2021
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90705-6 (Access: Open)