We study theoretically and experimentally the modulational instability of broad optical beams in photorefractive nonlinear media. We demonstrate the impact of the anisotropy of the nonlinearity on the growth rate of periodic perturbations. Our findings are confirmed by experimental measurements in a strontium barium niobate photorefractive crystal.
Ultrasound-modulated optical tomography enables sharp 3D optical imaging of tissues and other turbid media, but the light modulation signals are hard to sensitively measure. A common solution, involving photorefractive crystals, enables the measurement of a relatively slow and low-spatial-resolution signal tracking the envelope of the ultrasound wave. We reexamine the photorefractive detection principle both intuitively and quantitatively, and from this analysis we predict that the photodetector should additionally see a fast response at twice the ultrasound frequency, and correspondingly high…
Modulational instability is a phenomenon that reveals itself as the exponential growth of weak perturbations in the presence of an intense pump beam propagating in a nonlinear medium. It plays a key role in such nonlinear optical processes as supercontinuum generation, light filamentation, and rogue waves. However, practical realization of these phenomena in the majority of available nonlinear media still relies on high-intensity optical beams. Here, we analytically and numerically show the possibility of necklace beam generation originating from low-intensity spatial modulational instability …
We discuss the modulational instability (MI) of plane waves in nonlocal Kerr media with the sine-oscillation response function, which can model the nematic liquid crystal with negative dielectric anisotropy. The results in the framework of the nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation show that the MI in this system has two extraordinary properties. First, MI exists in both cases of negative Kerr coefficient $(n_{2}<0)$ and positive Kerr coefficient $(n_{2}>0)$. Second, the maximum gain of MI is not affected by the intensity of the plane wave, and the wave number %spatial frequency of the maximu…
The dynamics of fronts, or kinks, in dispersive media with gain and losses is considered. It is shown that the front parameters, such as the velocity and width, depend on initial conditions. This result is not typical for dissipative systems. For exponentially decreasing initial conditions, the relations for the front parameters are found. A presence of the global bifurcation, when a soliton solution is replaced by the front solution, is demonstrated. It is also shown that in order to observe fronts, the front velocity should be larger than the characteristic velocity of the modulational insta…
We examine the evolution of a time-varying perturbation signal pumped into a mono-mode fiber in the anomalous dispersion regime. We analytically establish that the perturbation evolves into a conservative pattern of periodic pulses which structures and profiles share close similarity with the so-called soliton-crystal states recently observed in fiber media [see e.g. A. Haboucha et al., Phys. Rev. A\textbf{78}, 043806 (2008); D. Y. Tang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{101}, 153904 (2008); F. Amrani et al., Opt. Express \textbf{19}, 13134 (2011)]. We derive mathematically and generate numerica…
We study the nonlinear optical propagation of two different classes of space-varying polarized light beams -- radially symmetric vector beams and Poincaré beams with lemon and star topologies -- in a rubidium vapour cell. Unlike Laguerre-Gauss and other types of beams that experience modulational instabilities, we observe that their propagation is not marked by beam breakup while still exhibiting traits such as nonlinear confinement and self-focusing. Our results suggest that by tailoring the spatial structure of the polarization, the effects of nonlinear propagation can be effectively control…
Two-dimensional fractional discrete NLS equations: dispersion relations, rogue waves, fundamental and vortex solitons
KLMM, Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院数学与系统科学研究院）；School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学数学科学学院）；Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University（特拉维夫大学工程学院电气工程系物理电子学系）；Instituto de Alta Investigación, Universidad de Tarapacá（塔拉帕卡大学高等研究所）
