arXiv subjects

Antonio Picozzi

Publications and source records attributed to Antonio Picozzi.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Spatio-temporal equilibrium thermodynamics of guided optical waves at positive and negative temperatures

Optical thermalization has been recently studied in the 2D spatial evolution of (quasi-)monochromatic light waves propagating in multimode waveguides. Here, we investigate the spatio-temporal equilibrium properties of optical waves through the analysis of the (2+1)D Bose-Einstein thermal distribution and the corresponding classical Rayleigh-Jeans approximation. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLSE) demonstrate relaxation toward the spatio-temporal Rayleigh-Jeans equilibrium state, as described by the corresponding wave turbulence kinetic equation. Remarkable adiabatic cooling phenomena stemming from the high-frequency tails of the Rayleigh-Jeans distribution are discussed and the consequent limitations of the classical approximation are highlighted. To overcome these issues, we make use of a quantum version of the NLSE whose associated kinetic equation describes relaxation toward the spatio-temporal Bose-Einstein equilibrium distribution. The analysis of thermodynamic properties reveals a strong dependence on the dispersion regime. In the anomalous dispersion regime, the system relaxes to positive-temperatures equilibrium states: as the number of modes of the waveguide increases, the fundamental spatial mode becomes macroscopically populated, while its temporal spectrum undergoes significant narrowing, ultimately leading to complete (2+1)D spatio-temporal condensation in the thermodynamic limit. In the normal dispersion regime, the system evolves toward negative-temperature equilibrium states characterized by an inverted spatial modal population. In this regime, we predict a phase transition to Bose-Einstein condensation at negative temperatures, which occurs by increasing the temperature above a negative critical value. Our work opens new avenues for future research and lay the groundwork for the development of spatiotemporal optical thermodynamics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Spatio-temporal thermalization and adiabatic cooling of guided light waves

We propose and theoretically characterize three-dimensional spatio-temporal thermalization of a continuous-wave classical light beam propagating along a multi-mode optical waveguide. By combining a non-equilibrium kinetic approach based on the wave turbulence theory and numerical simulations of the field equations, we anticipate that thermalizing scattering events are dramatically accelerated by the combination of strong transverse confinement with the continuous nature of the temporal degrees of freedom. In connection with the blackbody catastrophe, the thermalization of the classical field in the continuous temporal direction provides an intrinsic mechanism for adiabatic cooling and, then, spatial beam condensation. Our results open new avenues in the direction of a simultaneous spatial and temporal beam cleaning.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Stochastic Dynamics of Incoherent Branched Flow

Waves propagating through weakly disordered smooth linear media undergo a universal phenomenon called branched flow. Branched flow has been observed and studied experimentally in various systems by considering coherent waves. Recent experiments have reported the observation of optical branched flow by using an incoherent light source, thus revealing the key role of coherent phase-sensitive effects in the development of incoherent branched flow. By considering the paraxial wave equation as a generic representative model, we elaborate a stochastic theory of both coherent and incoherent branched flow. We derive closed-form equations that determine the evolution of the intensity correlation function, as well as the value and the propagation distance of the maximum of the scintillation index, which characterize the dynamical formation of incoherent branched flow. We report accurate numerical simulations that are found in quantitative agreement with the theory without free parameters. Our theory highlights the important impact of coherence and interference on branched flow, thereby providing a framework for exploring branched flow in nonlinear media, in relation with the formation of freak waves in oceans.

math.AP↗

arXiv2024

Bridging Rayleigh-Jeans and Bose-Einstein condensation of a guided fluid of light with positive and negative temperatures

We consider the free propagation geometry of a light beam (or fluid of light) in a multimode waveguide. As a result of the effective photon-photon interactions, the photon fluid thermalizes to an equilibrium state during its conservative propagation. In this configuration, Rayleigh-Jeans (RJ) thermalization and condensation of classical light waves have been recently observed experimentally in graded index multimode optical fibers characterized by a 2D parabolic trapping potential. As well-known, the properties of RJ condensation differ substantially from those of Bose-Einstein (BE) condensation: The condensate fraction decreases quadratically with the temperature for BE condensation, while it decreases linearly for RJ condensation. Furthermore, for quantum particles the heat capacity tends to zero at small temperatures, and it takes a constant value in the classical particle limit at high temperatures. This is in contrast with classical RJ waves, where the specific heat takes a constant value at small temperatures, and tends to vanish above the condensation transition in the normal (uncondensed) state. Here, we reconcile the thermodynamic properties of BE and RJ condensation: By introducing a frequency cut-off inherent to light propagation in a waveguide, we derive generalized expressions of the thermodynamic properties that include the RJ and BE limits as particular cases. We extend the approach to encompass negative temperatures. In contrast to positive temperatures, the specific heat does not display a singular behavior at negative temperatures, reflecting the non-critical nature of the transition to a macroscopic population of the highest energy level. Our work contributes to understanding the quantum-to-classical crossover in the equilibrium properties of light, within a versatile experimental platform based on nonlinear optical propagation in multimode waveguides.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Rayleigh-Jeans thermalization vs beam cleaning in multimode optical fibers

Classical nonlinear waves exhibit, as a general rule, an irreversible process of thermalization toward the Rayleigh-Jeans equilibrium distribution. On the other hand, several recent experiments revealed a remarkable effect of spatial organization of an optical beam that propagates through a graded-index multimode optical fiber (MMF), a phenomenon termed beam self-cleaning. Our aim here is to evidence the qualitative impact of disorder (weak random mode coupling) on the process of Rayleigh-Jeans thermalization by considering two different experimental configurations. In a first experiment, we launch speckle beams in a relatively long MMF. Our results report a clear and definite experimental demonstration of Rayleigh-Jeans thermalization through light propagation in MMFs, over a broad range of kinetic energy (i.e., degree of spatial coherence) of the injected speckle beam. In particular, the property of energy equipartition among the modes is clearly observed in the condensed regime. The experimental results also evidence the double turbulence cascade process: while the power flows toward the fundamental mode (inverse cascade), the energy flows toward the higher-order modes (direct cascade). In a 2nd experiment, a coherent laser beam is launched into a relatively short MMF length. It reveals an effect of beam cleaning driven by an incipient process of Rayleigh-Jeans thermalization. As discussed through numerical simulations, the fast process of Rayleigh-Jeans thermalization observed in the 1st experiment can be attributed due to a random phase dynamics among the modes, which is favoured by the injection of a speckle beam and the increased impact of disorder in the long fiber system.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Interplay of thermalization and strong disorder: Wave turbulence theory, numerical simulations, and experiments in multimode optical fibers

We address the problem of thermalization in the presence of a time-dependent disorder in the framework of the nonlinear Schrödinger (or Gross-Pitaevskii) equation with a random potential. The thermalization to the Rayleigh-Jeans distribution is driven by the nonlinearity. On the other hand, the structural disorder is responsible for a relaxation toward the homogeneous equilibrium distribution (particle equipartition), which thus inhibits thermalization (energy equipartition). On the basis of the wave turbulence theory, we derive a kinetic equation that accounts for the presence of strong disorder. The theory unveils the interplay of disorder and nonlinearity. It unexpectedly reveals that a non-equilibrium process of condensation and thermalization can take place in the regime where disorder effects dominate over nonlinear effects. We validate the theory by numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and the derived kinetic equation, which are found in quantitative agreement without using adjustable parameters. Experiments realized in multimode optical fibers with an applied external stress evidence the process of thermalization in the presence of strong disorder.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Weak Langmuir turbulence in disordered multimode optical fibers

We consider the propagation of temporally incoherent waves in multimode optical fibers (MMFs) in the framework of the multimode nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation accounting for the impact of the natural structural disorder that affects light propagation in standard MMFs (random mode coupling and polarization fluctuations). By averaging the dynamics over the fast disordered fluctuations, we derive a Manakov equation from the multimode NLS equation, which reveals that the Raman effect introduces a previously unrecognized nonlinear coupling among the modes. Applying the wave turbulence theory on the Manakov equation, we derive a very simple scalar kinetic equation describing the evolution of the multimode incoherent waves. The structure of the kinetic equation is analogous to that developed in plasma physics to describe weak Langmuir turbulence. The extreme simplicity of the derived kinetic equation provides physical insight into the multimode incoherent wave dynamics. It reveals the existence of different collective behaviors where all modes self-consistently form a multimode spectral incoherent soliton state. Such an incoherent soliton can exhibit a discrete behavior characterized by collective synchronized spectral oscillations in frequency space. The theory is validated by accurate numerical simulations: The simulations of the generalized multimode NLS equation are found in quantitative agreement with those of the derived scalar kinetic equation without using adjustable parameters.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Incoherent localized structures and hidden coherent solitons from the gravitational instability of the Schrödinger-Poisson equation

The long-term behavior of a modulationally unstable conservative nonintegrable system is known to be characterized by the soliton turbulence self-organization process. We consider this problem in the presence of a long-range interaction in the framework of the Schrödinger-Poisson (or Newton-Schrödinger) equation accounting for the gravitational interaction. By increasing the amount of nonlinearity, the system self-organizes into a large-scale incoherent localized structure that contains "hidden" coherent soliton states: The solitons can hardly be identified in the usual spatial or spectral domains, while their existence is unveiled in the phase-space representation (spectrogram). We develop a theoretical approach that provides the coupled description of the coherent soliton component (governed by an effective Schrödinger-Poisson equation) and of the incoherent component (governed by a wave turbulence Vlasov-Poisson equation). The theory shows that the incoherent structure introduces an effective trapping potential that stabilizes the hidden coherent soliton, a mechanism that we verify by direct numerical simulations. The theory characterizes the properties of the localized incoherent structure, such as its compactly supported spectral shape. It also clarifies the quantum-to-classical correspondence in the presence of gravitational interactions. This study is of potential interest for self-gravitating Boson models of fuzzy dark matter. Although we focus our paper on the Schrödinger-Poisson equation, we show that our results are general for long-range wave systems characterized by an algebraic decay of the interacting potential. This work should stimulate nonlinear optics experiments in highly nonlocal nonlinear (thermal) media that mimic the long-range nature of gravitational interactions.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

Coherent soliton states hidden in phase-space and stabilized by gravitational incoherent structures

We consider the problem of the formation of soliton states from a modulationally unstable initial condition in the framework of the Schrödinger-Poisson (or Newton-Schrödinger) equation accounting for gravitational interactions. We unveil a previously unrecognized regime: By increasing the nonlinearity, the system self-organizes into an incoherent localized structure that contains "hidden" coherent soliton states. The solitons are "hidden" in the sense that they are fully immersed in random wave fluctuations: The radius of the soliton is much larger than the correlation radius of the incoherent fluctuations while its peak amplitude is of the same order of such fluctuations. Accordingly, the solitons can hardly be identified in the usual spatial or spectral domains, while their existence is clearly unveiled in the phase-space representation. Our multi-scale theory based on coupled coherent-incoherent wave turbulence formalisms reveals that the hidden solitons are stabilized and trapped by the incoherent localized structure. Furthermore, hidden binary soliton systems are identified numerically and described theoretically. The regime of hidden solitons is of potential interest for self-gravitating Boson models of "fuzzy" dark matter. It also sheds new light on the quantum-to-classical correspondence with gravitational interactions. The hidden solitons can be observed in nonlocal nonlinear optics experiments through the measurement of the spatial spectrogram.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2021

Dissipation-enhanced collapse singularity of a nonlocal fluid of light in a hot atomic vapor

We study the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of a two-dimensional paraxial fluid of light using a near-resonant laser propagating through a hot atomic vapor. We observe a double shock-collapse instability: a shock (gradient catastrophe) for the velocity, as well as an annular (ring-shaped) collapse singularity for the density. We find experimental evidence that this instability results from the combined effect of the nonlocal photon-photon interaction and the linear photon losses. The theoretical analysis based on the method of characteristics reveals the main counterintuitive result that dissipation (photon losses) is responsible for an unexpected enhancement of the collapse instability. Detailed analytical modeling makes it possible to evaluate the nonlocality range of the interaction. The nonlocality is controlled by adjusting the atomic vapor temperature and is seen to increase dramatically when the atomic density becomes much larger than one atom per cubic wavelength. Interestingly, such a large range of the nonlocal photon-photon interaction has not been observed in an atomic vapor so far and its microscopic origin is currently unknown.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2020

Dramatic acceleration of wave condensation mediated by disorder in multimode fibers

Classical nonlinear waves exhibit a phenomenon of condensation that results from the natural irreversible process of thermalization, in analogy with the quantum Bose-Einstein condensation. Wave condensation originates in the divergence of the thermodynamic equilibrium Rayleigh-Jeans distribution, which is responsible for the macroscopic population of the fundamental mode of the system. However, achieving complete thermalization and condensation of incoherent waves through nonlinear optical propagation is known to require prohibitive large interaction lengths. Here, we derive a discrete kinetic equation describing the nonequilibrium evolution of the random wave in the presence of a structural disorder of the medium. Our theory reveals that a weak disorder accelerates the rate of thermalization and condensation by several order of magnitudes. Such a counterintuitive dramatic acceleration of condensation can provide a natural explanation for the recently discovered phenomenon of optical beam self-cleaning. Our experiments in multimode optical fibers report the observation of the transition from an incoherent thermal distribution to wave condensation, with a condensate fraction of up to 60% in the fundamental mode of the waveguide trapping potential.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

On the origins of spectral broadening of incoherent waves:Catastrophic process of coherence degradation

We revisit the mechanisms underlying the process of spectral broadening of incoherent optical waves propagating in nonlinear media on the basis of nonequilibrium thermodynamic considerations. A simple analysis reveals that a prerequisite for the existence of a significant spectral broadening of the waves is that the linear part of the energy (Hamiltonian) has different contributions of opposite signs. It turns out that, at variance with the expected soliton turbulence scenario, an increase of the amount of disorder (incoherence) in the system does not require the generation of a coherent soliton structure. We illustrate the idea by considering the propagation of two wave components in an optical fiber with opposite dispersion coefficients. A wave turbulence approach of the problem reveals that the increase of kinetic energy in one component is offset by the negative reduction in the other component, so that the waves exhibit, as a general rule, a virtually unlimited spectral broadening. More precisely, a self-similar solution of the kinetic equations reveals that the spectra of the incoherent waves tend to relax toward a homogeneous distribution in the wake of a front that propagates in frequency space with a decelerating velocity. We discuss this catastrophic process of spectral broadening in the light of different important phenomena, in particular supercontinuum generation, soliton turbulence, wave condensation, and the runaway motion of mechanical systems composed of positive and negative masses.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2005

Condensation of classical nonlinear waves

We study the formation of a large-scale coherent structure (a condensate) in classical wave equations by considering the defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation as a representative model. We formulate a thermodynamic description of the condensation process by using a wave turbulence theory with ultraviolet cut-off. In 3 dimensions the equilibrium state undergoes a phase transition for sufficiently low energy density, while no transition occurs in 2 dimensions, in analogy with standard Bose-Einstein condensation in quantum systems. Numerical simulations show that the thermodynamic limit is reached for systems with $16^3$ computational modes and greater. On the basis of a modified wave turbulence theory, we show that the nonlinear interaction makes the transition to condensation subcritical. The theory is in quantitative agreement with the simulations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Noise-seeded spatio-temporal modulation instability in normal dispersion

In optical second harmonic generation with normal dispersion, the virtually infinite bandwidth of the unbounded, hyperbolic, modulational instability leads to quenching of spatial multi-soliton formation and to the occurrence of a catastrophic spatio-temporal break-up when an extended beam is let to interact with an extremely weak external noise with coherence time much shorter than that of the pump.

physics.optics↗