We introduce a scheme of a photonic coupler built of two parallel topological-insulator slab waveguides with the intrinsic Kerr nonlinearity, separated by a gap. Josephson oscillations (JO) of a single edge soliton created in one slab, and of a pair of solitons created in two slabs, are considered. The single soliton jumping between the slabs is subject to quick radiative decay. On the other hand, the JO of the copropagating soliton pair may be essentially more robust, as one soliton can absorb dispersive waves emitted by the other. The most robust JO regime is featured by the pair of solitons with phase shift $π$ between them.
We consider the existence and stability of solitons in a $χ^{(2)}$ coupler. Both the fundamental and second harmonics undergo gain in one of the coupler cores and are absorbed in the other one. The gain and losses are balanced creating a parity-time (${\cal PT}$) symmetric configuration. We present two types of families of ${\cal PT}$-symmetric solitons, having equal and different profiles of the fundamental and second harmonics. It is shown that gain and losses can stabilize solitons. Interaction of stable solitons is shown. In the cascading limit the model is reduced to the ${\cal PT}$-symme…
Dynamics of symmetric and antisymmetric 2-solitons and 3-solitons is studied in the model of the nonlinear dual-core coupler and its PT-symmetric version. Regions of the convergence of the injected perturbed symmetric and antisymmetric N-solitons into symmetric and asymmetric quasi-solitons are found. In the PT-symmetric system, with the balanced gain and loss acting in the two cores, borders of the stability against the blowup are identified. Notably, in all the cases the stability regions are larger for antisymmetric 2-soliton inputs than for their symmetric counterparts, on the contrary to …
The Zeno effect is investigated for soliton type pulses in a nonlinear directional coupler with dissipation. The effect consists in increase of the coupler transparency with increase of the dissipative losses in one of the arms. It is shown that localized dissipation can lead to switching of solitons between the arms. Power losses accompanying the switching can be fully compensated by using a combination of dissipative and active (in particular, parity-time -symmetric) segments.
Families of analytical solutions are found for symmetric and antisymmetric solitons in the dual-core system with the Kerr nonlinearity and PT-balanced gain and loss. The crucial issue is stability of the solitons. A stability region is obtained in an analytical form, and verified by simulations, for the PT-symmetric solitons. For the antisymmetric ones, the stability border is found in a numerical form. Moving solitons of both types collide elastically. The two soliton species merge into one in the "supersymmetric" case, with equal coefficients of the gain, loss and inter-core coupling. These …
We study dynamical and stationary states of solitons in dual-core waveguides which are locally coupled (fused) at one or several short segments. The model applies to planar optical waveguides, and to BEC in dual traps. Collisions of an incident soliton with single and double locally-fused couplers are investigated by means of systematic simulations and several analytical methods (quasi- linear, fast-soliton, and adiabatic approximations). Excitation dynamics of a soliton trapped by a local coupler is studied by means of the variational approximation, and verified by simulations. Shuttle motion…
We study spatial and temporal solitons in the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric coupler with gain in one waveguide and loss in the other. Stability properties of the high- and low-frequency solitons are found to be completely determined by a single combination of the soliton's amplitude and the gain/loss coefficient of the waveguides. The unstable perturbations of the high-frequency soliton break the symmetry between its active and lossy components which results in a blowup of the soliton or a formation of a long-lived breather state. The unstable perturbations of the low-frequency soliton separate its…
We investigate the switching dynamics in a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric fiber coupler composed of a saturable nonlinear material as the core. In such a saturable nonlinear medium, bistable solitons may evolve due to the balance between dispersion and saturable nonlinearity, which we extend in the context of the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupler. Our investigations of power-controlled and phase-sensitive switching show richer soliton switching dynamics than the currently existing conventional counterparts, which may lead to ultrafast and efficient all-optical switching dynamics at very low power owi…
We introduce one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) models of parity-time ($% \mathcal{PT}$) -symmetric couplers with the mutually balanced linear gain and loss applied to the two cores, and cubic-quintic (CQ) nonlinearity acting in each one. The 2D and 1D models may be realized in dual-core optical waveguides, in the spatiotemporal and spatial domains, respectively. Stationary solutions for $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric solitons in these systems reduce to their counterparts in the usual coupler. The most essential problem is the stability of the solitons, which become unstable against symmetry break…
We study effects of nonlocality of the cubic self-focusing nonlinearity on the stability and symmetry-breaking bifurcation (SBB) of solitons in the model of a planar dual-core optical waveg- uide with nonlocal (thermal) nonlinearity. In comparison with the well-known coupled systems with the local nonlinearity, the present setting is affected by the competition of different spatial scales, viz., the coupling length and correlation radius of the nonlocality, $\sqrt{d}$. By means of numer- ical methods and variational approximation (VA, which is relevant for small d), we find that, with the incr…
A dual-core waveguide with balanced gain and loss in different arms and with intermodal coupling is considered. The system is not invariant under the conventional $PT$ symmetry but obeys $CPT$ symmetry where an additional spatial inversion $C$ corresponds to swapping the coupler arms. We show that second-order dispersion of coupling allows for unbroken $CPT$ symmetry and supports propagation of stable vector solitons along the coupler. Small-amplitude solitons are found in explicit form. The combined effect of gain-and-loss and dispersive coupling results in several interesting features which …
Families of coupled solitons of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric physical models with gain and loss in fractional dimension and in settings with and without cross-interactions modulation (CIM), are reported. Profiles, powers, stability areas, and propagation dynamics of the obtained $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupled solitons are investigated. By comparing the results of the models with and without CIM, we find that the stability area of the model with CIM is much broader than the one without CIM. Remarkably, oscillating $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupled solitons can also exist in the model of CIM with t…
We consider a dual-core nonlinear waveguide with the parity-time (PT) symmetry, realized in the form of equal gain and loss terms carried by the coupled cores. To expand a previously found stability region for solitons in this system, and explore possibilities for the development of dynamical control of the solitons, we introduce "management" in the form of periodic sinusoidal variation of the loss-gain (LG) coefficients, along with synchronous variation of the inter-core coupling (ICC) constant. This system, which can be realized in optics (in the temporal and spatial domains alike), features…
We study two-component solitons and their symmetry-breaking bifurcations (SBBs) in linearly coupled photonic systems with a spatially inhomogeneous strength of the coupling. One system models an inverted virtual photonic crystal, built by periodically doping the host medium with atoms implementing the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). In this system, two soliton-forming probe beams with different carrier frequencies are mutually coupled by the EIT-induced effective linear interconversion. The system is described by coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equations for the probes, wit…
We introduce a 2D network built of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric dimers with on-site cubic nonlinearity, the gain and loss elements of the dimers being linked by parallel square-shaped lattices. The system may be realized as a set of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric dual-core waveguides embedded into a photonic crystal. The system supports $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric and antisymmetric fundamental solitons (FSs) and on-site-centered solitary vortices (OnVs). Stability of these discrete solitons is the central topic of the consideration. Their stability regions in the underlying parameter space are identified t…
We introduce a nonlinear parity-time-symmetric dispersive coupler which admits Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formulations. We show that, in spite of the gain and dissipation, the model has several conservation laws. The system also supports a variety of exact solutions. We focus on exact bright solitons and demonstrate numerically that they are dynamically stable in a wide parameter range and undergo elastic interactions, thus manifesting nearly-integrable dynamics. Physical applications of the introduced model in the theory of Bose-Einstein condensates in nonlinear lattices are discussed.
We report a detailed study on soliton steering dynamics in a parity-time-symmetric directional coupler in the femtosecond domain, which requires incorporation of higher-order perturbative effects such as third-order and fourth-order dispersions, self-steepening, and intrapulse Raman scattering. With a high gain/loss, the combination of all these effects is found to stabilize the soliton pulse evolution in the coupler from the chaotic behavior of unperturbed evolution. This work demonstrates that efficient soliton steering can be achieved at very low critical power and a relatively higher gain/…
In this paper we study the interaction of Gaussian solitons in a dispersive and nonlinear media with log-law nonlinearity. The model is described by the coupled logarithmic nonlinear Schrödinger equations, which is a nonintegrable system that allows the observation of a very rich scenario in the collision patterns. By employing a variational approach and direct numerical simulations, we observe a fractal-scattering phenomenon from the exit velocities of each soliton as a function of the input velocities. Furthermore, we introduce a linearization model to identify the position of the reflection…
We show that the parity-time (PT) symmetric coupled optical waveguides with gain and loss support localised oscillatory structures similar to the breathers of the classical $ϕ^4$ model. The power carried by the PT-breather oscillates periodically, switching back and forth between the waveguides, so that the gain and loss are compensated on the average. The breathers are found to coexist with solitons and be prevalent in the products of the soliton collisions. We demonstrate that the evolution of the small-amplitude breather's envelope is governed by a system of two coupled nonlinear Schrödinge…
We consider the model of a dual-core spatial-domain coupler with chi^(2) and chi^(3) nonlinearities acting in two parallel cores. We construct families of symmetric and asymmetric solitons in the system with self-defocusing chi^(3) terms, and test their stability. The transition from symmetric to asymmetric soliton branches, and back to the symmetric ones proceeds via a bifurcation loop. A pair of stable asymmetric branches emerge from the symmetric family via a supercritical bifurcation; eventually, the asymmetric branches merge back into the symmetric one through a reverse bifurcation. The e…
We study effects of the spontaneous symmetry-breaking (SSB) in solitons built of the dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), trapped in a dual-core system with the dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs) and hopping between the cores. Two realizations of such a matter-wave coupler are introduced, weakly- and strongly-coupled. The former one in based on two parallel pipe-shaped traps, while the latter one is represented by a single pipe sliced by an external field into parallel layers. The dipoles are oriented along axes of the pipes. In these systems, the dual-core solitons feature the SSB of the su…
We study nonlinear modes of dual-core photonic crystal fiber couplers made of a material with the focusing Kerr nonlinearity. We find numerically the profiles of symmetric, antisymmetric, and asymmetric nonlinear modes, and analyze all-optical switching based on instability of the symmetric mode. We also describe elliptic spatial solitons controlled by the waveguide boundaries.
As the formation of spatial optical solitons in photorefractive media is governed by modification of the refractive index every single solitons in complex configurations of solitons can act as a single waveguide for other light beams. In this article we demonstrate guiding of amplitude modulated beams in complex configurations of photorefractive solitons carrying information and we analyze the received signal in the kHz frequency range. The possibility of data transmission combined with waveguide couplers opens the route to all-optical networks.
We study matter-wave dark solitons in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates at finite temperatures, under the effect of linear and periodic potentials. Our model, namely a dissipative Gross-Pitaevskii equation, is treated analytically by means of dark soliton perturbation theory, which results in a Newtonian equation of motion for the dark soliton center. This reduced model, which incorporates an effective washboard potential and an anti-damping term, constitutes an example of an anti-damped Josephson junction. We present a qualitative (local and global) analysis of the equation of motion. For suff…
We study the dynamics of matter waves in an effectively one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate in a double well potential. We consider in particular the case when one of the double wells confines excited states. Similarly to the known ground state oscillations, the states can tunnel between the wells experiencing the physics known for electrons in a Josephson junction, or be self-trapped. As the existence of dark solitons in a harmonic trap are continuations of such non-ground state excitations, one can view the Josephson-like oscillations as tunnelings of dark solitons. Numerical existence …
Fluxon transmission through impurities of different shape in a quasi-one-dimensional long Josephson junction is investigated. The junction width is significantly less than its length but, at the same time, is of the order of the Josephson penetration length $λ_J$ or exceeds it. The retrapping current on the impurities of the point, line and rectangular shape is computed as a function of the junction width both numerically and analytically. Good agreement between the analytic formulae and the numerical simulation results for the intermediate (several $λ_J$) junction width is observed.
The article provides a survey of (chiefly, theoretical) results obtained for self-trapped modes (solitons) in various models of one-dimensional optical waveguides based on a pair of parallel guiding cores, which combine the linear inter-core coupling with the intrinsic cubic (Kerr) nonlinearity, anomalous group-velocity dispersion, and, possibly, intrinsic loss and gain in each core. The survey is focused on three main topics: spontaneous breaking of the inter-core symmetry and the formation of asymmetric temporal solitons in dual-core fibers; stabilization of dissipative temporal solitons (es…
Solitons confined in channels are studied in the two-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We study the dynamics of two channel-guided solitons near the junction where two channels are merged. The two solitons merge into one soliton, when there is no phase shift. If a phase difference is given to the two solitons, the Josephson oscillation is induced. The Josephson oscillation is amplified near the junction. The two solitons are reflected when the initial velocity is below a critical value.
The existence and dynamics of solitons in quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and attractive two-body interactions are described for two coupled atomic pseudo-spin components with slowly and rapidly varying time-dependent Raman frequency. By varying the Raman frequency linearly in time, it was shown that ordinary nonlinear Schrödinger-type bright solitons can be converted to striped bright solitons and vice versa. The internal Josephson oscillations between atom-number of the coupled soliton components, and the corresponding center-of-mass motio…
Magnetic flux quanta, of value h/2e, in long Josephson junctions behave as (quasi) solitons. Fluxon dynamical states are well described by a perturbed sine-Gordon equation model, with boundary conditions determined by the junction geometry and by externally applied magnetic fields, and they give rise to readily measurable physical phenomena, such as step structure in current-voltage characteristics and microwave radiation emission. Devices based on fluxon propagation offer potentially interesting applications as oscillators and amplifiers - as well as digital applica- tions, described elsewher…
We investigate dynamics of two-dimensional chiral solitons of semi-vortex (SV) and mixed-mode (MM) types in spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates with the Manakov nonlinearity, loaded in a dual-core (double-layer) trap. The system supports two novel manifestations of Josephson phenomenology: one in the form of persistent oscillations between SVs or MMs with opposite chiralities in the two cores, and another one demonstrating robust periodic switching (identity oscillations) between SV in one core and MM in the other, provided that the strength of the inter-core coupling exceeds a thresh…
We consider the interactions of traveling localized wave solutions with a vertex in a star graph domain that describes multiple Josephson junctions with a common/branch point (i.e., tricrystal junctions). The system is modeled by the sine-Gordon equation. The vertex is represented by boundary conditions that are determined by the continuity of the magnetic field and vanishing total fluxes. When one considers small-amplitude breather solutions, the system can be reduced into the nonlinear Schrödinger equation posed on a star graph. Using the equation, we show that a high-velocity incoming solit…
By determining the type of all stationary points of the Gibbs free energy functional for layered superconductors in parallel magnetic fields, we establish the classification of all solutions to coupled static sine-Gordon equations for the phase differences with respect to their stability. We prove that the only minimizers of the free energy are the Meissner solution (the "vacuum" state) and soliton vortex-plane solutions [S. V. Kuplevakhsky, Phys. Rev. B vol. 60, 7496 (1999); ibid. vol. 63, 054508 (2001); cond-mat/0202293]. They are the actual equilibrium field configurations. We present a top…
The problem of vortex structure in a single Josephson junction in an external magnetic field, in the absence of transport currents, is reconsidered from a new mathematical point of view. In particular, we derive a complete set of exact analytical solutions representing all the stationary points (minima and saddle-points) of the relevant Gibbs free-energy functional. The type of these solutions is determined by explicit evaluation of the second variation of the Gibbs free-energy functional. The stable (physical) solutions minimizing the Gibbs free-energy functional form an infinite set and are …
We demonstrate that the amplitudes of optical solitons in nonlinear multisequence optical waveguide coupler systems with weak linear and cubic gain-loss exhibit large stable oscillations along ultra-long distances. The large stable oscillations are caused by supercritical Hopf bifurcations of the equilibrium states of the Lotka-Volterra (LV) models for dynamics of soliton amplitudes. The predictions of the LV models are confirmed by numerical simulations with the coupled cubic nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) propagation models with $2 \le N \le 4$ pulse sequences. Thus, we provide the first demons…
We introduce a two-dimensional (2D) system, which can be implemented in dual-core planar optical couplers with the Kerr nonlinearity in its cores, making it possible to blend effects of the PT symmetry, represented by the balanced linear gain and loss in the two cores, and spin-orbit coupling (SOC), emulated by a spatially biased coupling between the cores. Families of 1D and 2D solitons and their stability boundaries are identified. In the 1D setting, the addition of the SOC terms leads, at first, to shrinkage of the stability area for PT-symmetric solitons, which is followed by its rapid exp…
Two effectively one-dimensional parallel coupled Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of external potentials are studied. The system is modelled by linearly coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations. In particular, the interactions of grey-soliton-like solutions representing analogues of superconducting Josephson fluxons as well as coupled dark solitons are discussed. A theoretical approximation based on variational formulations to calculate the oscillation frequency of the grey-soliton-like solution is derived and a qualitatively good agreement is obtained.
Two effectively one-dimensional parallel coupled Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of external potentials are studied. The system is modelled by linearly coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations. In particular, grey-soliton-like solutions representing analogues of superconducting Josephson fluxons as well as coupled dark solitons are discussed. Theoretical approximations based on variational formulations are derived. It is found that the presence of a magnetic trap can destabilize the fluxon analogues. However, stabilization is possible by controlling the effective linear coupling between th…
Nonlinear waves that collide with localized defects exhibit complex behavior. Apart from reflection, transmission, and annihilation of an incident wave, a local inhomogeneity can activate internal modes of solitons, producing many impressive phenomena. In this work, we investigate a two-dimensional sine-Gordon model perturbed by a family of localized forces. We observed the formation of bubble-like and drop-like structures due to local internal shape modes instabilities. We describe the formation of such structures on the basis of a one-dimensional theory of activation of internal modes of sG …
We investigate tunneling behavior between two bright solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate with attractive contact interactions between atoms. The explicit tunneling properties including tunneling particles and oscillation period are described analytically, which indicates that the periodic tunneling form is a nonlinear Josephson type oscillation. The results suggest that the breathing behavior of solitons comes from the tunneling mechanism in an effective double-well potential, which is quite different from the modulational instability mechanism for Akhmediev breather and K-M breather. Furth…
