Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Boris A. Malomed

Publications and source records attributed to Boris A. Malomed.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources

Inversion and tight focusing of Airy pulses under the action of third-order dispersion

By means of direct simulations and theoretical analysis, we study the nonlinear propagation of truncated Airy pulses in an optical fiber exhibiting both anomalous second-order and strong positive third-order dispersions. It is found that the Airy pulse first reaches a finite-size focal area as determined by the relative strength of the two dispersion terms, and then undergoes an inversion transformation such that it continues to travel with an opposite acceleration. The system notably features tight focusing if the third-order dispersion is a dominant factor. These effects are partially reduced by a Kerr nonlinearity.

physics.optics↗

Photon-atomic solitons in a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a soft optical lattice

We investigate the ground state (GS) of a collisionless Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in a soft one-dimensional optical lattice (OL), which is formed by two counterpropagating optical beams perturbed by the BEC density profile through the local-field effect (LFE). We show that LFE gives rise to an envelope-deformation potential, a nonlocal potential resulting from the phase deformation, and an effective self-interaction of the condensate. As a result, stable photon-atomic lattice solitons, including an optical component, in the form of the deformation of the soft OL, in a combination with a localized matter-wave component, are generated in the blue-detuned setting, without any direct interaction between atoms. These self-trapped modes, which realize the system's GS, are essentially different from the gap solitons supported by the interplay of the OL potential and collisional interactions between atoms. A transition to tightly bound modes from loosely bound ones occurs with the increase of the number of atoms in the BEC.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Solitary vortices supported by localized parametric gain

We demonstrate the existence and stability of bright vortex solitons sustained by a ring-shaped parametric gain, for both focusing and defocusing Kerr nonlinearities in lossy optical media. With the defocusing nonlinearity, the vortices are stable at all values of the detuning parameter, while under the focusing nonlinearity their stability region is limited to some positive values of the detuning. Unstable vortices in the focusing medium transform into stable rotating azimuthons.

nlin.PS↗

Symmetric and asymmetric solitons in dual-core couplers with competing quadratic and cubic nonlinearities

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 existence of the loop is explained by means of an extended version of the cascading approximation for the chi^(2) interaction, which takes into regard the XPM part of the chi(3) interaction. When the inter-core coupling is weak, the bifurcation loop features a concave shape, with the asymmetric branches losing their stability at the turning points. In addition to the two-color solitons, which are built of the fundamental-frequency (FF) and second-harmonic (SH) components, in the case of the self-focusing chi^(3) nonlinearity we also consider single-color solitons, which contain only the SH component, but may be subject to the instability against FF perturbations. Asymmetric single-color solitons are always unstable, whereas the symmetric ones are stable, provided that they do not coexist with two-color counterparts. Collisions between tilted solitons are studied too.

nlin.PS↗

Two-dimensional intra-band solitons in lattice potentials with local defects and self-focusing nonlinearity

It is commonly known that stable bright solitons in periodic potentials, which represent gratings in photonics/plasmonics, or optical lattices in quantum gases, exist either in the spectral semi-infinite gap (SIG) or in finite bandgaps. Using numerical methods, we demonstrate that, under the action of the cubic self-focusing nonlinearity, defects in the form of "holes" in two-dimensional (2D) lattices support continuous families of 2D solitons \textit{embedded} into the first two Bloch bands of the respective linear spectrum, where solitons normally do not exist. The two families of the \textit{embedded defect solitons} (EDSs) are found to be continuously linked by the branch of \textit{gap defect solitons} (GDSs) populating the first finite bandgap. Further, the EDS branch traversing the first band links the GDS family with the branch of regular defect-supported solitons populating the SIG. Thus, we construct a continuous chain of regular, embedded, and gap-mode solitons ("superfamily") threading the entire bandgap structure considered here. The EDSs are stable in the first Bloch band, and partly stable in the second. They exist with the norm exceeding a minimum value, hence they do not originate from linear defect modes. Further, we demonstrate that double, triple and quadruple lattice defects support stable dipole-mode solitons and vortices.

physics.optics↗

Solitary modes in nonlocal media with inhomogeneous self-repulsive nonlinearity

We demonstrate the existence of two species of stable bright solitons, fundamental and dipole ones, in one-dimensional self-defocusing nonlocal media, with the local value of nonlinearity coefficient having one or several minima and growing at any rate faster than |x| at large values of coordinate x. The model can be derived for a slab optical waveguide with thermal nonlinearity. The most essential difference from the local counterpart of this system is the competition between two different spatial scales, the one determining the modulation pattern of the nonlinearity coefficient, and the correlation length of the nonlocality. The competition is explicitly exhibited by analytically obtained asymptotic form of generic solutions. Particular exact solutions are found analytically, and full soliton families are constructed in a numerical form. The multi-channel settings, with two or three local minima of the nonlinearity coefficient, are considered here for the first time, for both local and nonlocal models of the present type. States with multiple solitons launched into different channels are stable if the spacing between them exceeds a certain minimum value. A regime of stable Josephson oscillations of solitons between parallel channels is reported too.

physics.optics↗

Symmetry breaking and restoring wave transmission in diode-antidiode double chains

We introduce a system of two parallel-coupled discrete nonlinear Schroedinger (DNLS) inhomogeneous chains. Each one favors the unidirectional transmission of incident packets, in the opposite directions with respect to each other. Two different configurations of the diode-antidiode pair are considered, a ladder and a plaquette. They feature, respectively, the uniform transverse linear coupling, or the coupling limited to the central nonlinear segment of the system. In the case of weak linear coupling, the symmetry breaking is observed (i.e., the pair still features the diode behavior), while the moderately strong coupling restores the symmetry, making the transmission effectively bidirectional. In the case of the ladder, an oscillatory dependence of the transmission on the strength of the coupling is observed and qualitatively explained.

nlin.PS↗

Self-trapping of Fermi and Bose gases under spatially modulated repulsive nonlinearity and transverse confinement

We show that self-localized ground states can be created in the spin-balanced gas of fermions with repulsion between the spin components, whose strength grows from the center to periphery, in combination with the harmonic-oscillator (HO) trapping potential acting in one or two transverse directions. We also consider the ground state in the non-interacting Fermi gas under the action of the spatially growing tightness of the one- or two-dimensional (1D or 2D) HO confinement. These settings are considered in the framework of the Thomas-Fermi-von Weizsacker (TF-vW) density functional. It is found that the vW correction to the simple TF approximation (the gradient term) is nearly negligible in all situations. The properties of the ground state under the action of the 2D and 1D HO confinement with the tightness growing in the transverse directions is investigated too for the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) with the self-repulsive nonlinearity.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Vortical light bullets in second-harmonic-generating media supported by a trapping potential

We introduce a three-dimensional (3D) model of optical media with the quadratic ($χ^{(2)}$) nonlinearity and an effective 2D isotropic harmonic-oscillator (HO) potential. While it is well known that 3D χ^2 solitons with embedded vorticity ("vortical light bullets") are unstable in the free space, we demonstrate that they have a broad stability region in the present model, being supported by the HO potential against the splitting instability. The shape of the vortical solitons may be accurately predicted by the variational approximation (VA). They exist above a threshold value of the total energy (norm) and below another critical value, which determines a stability boundary. The existence threshold vanishes is a part of the parameter space, depending on the mismatch parameter, which is explained by means of the comparison with the 2D counterpart of the system. Above the stability boundary, the vortex features shape oscillations, periodically breaking its axisymmetric form and restoring it. Collisions between vortices moving in the longitudinal direction are studied too. The collision is strongly inelastic at relatively small values of the velocities, breaking the two colliding vortices into three, with the same vorticity. The results suggest a possibility of the creation of stable 3D optical solitons with the intrinsic vorticity.

physics.optics↗

High- and low-frequency phonon modes in dipolar quantum gases trapped in deep lattices

We study normal modes propagating on top of the stable uniform background in arrays of dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) droplets trapped in a deep optical lattice. Both the on-site mean-field dynamics of the droplets and their displacement due to the repulsive dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs) are taken into account. Dispersion relations for two modes, \textit{viz}., high- and low- frequency counterparts of optical and acoustic phonon modes in condensed matter, are derived analytically and verified by direct simulations, for both cases of the repulsive and attractive contact interactions. The (counterpart of the) optical-phonon branch does not exist without the DDIs. These results are relevant in the connection to emerging experimental techniques enabling real-time imaging of the condensate dynamics and direct experimental measurement of phonon dispersion relations in BECs.

nlin.PS↗

Solitons supported by localized parametric gain

We address the existence and properties of one-dimensional solitons maintained by localized parameter gain in focusing and defocusing lossy nonlinear media. Localized parametric gain supports both fundamental and multipole solitons. We found that the family of fundamental solitons is partly stable in focusing nonlinear medium, and completely stable in defocusing medium, while all higher-order solitons are unstable. In addition to numerical results, the existence threshold for the solitons, and a particular stable exact solution are obtained in an exact analytical form.

physics.optics↗

Pattern formation by kicked solitons in the two-dimensionnal Ginzburg-Landau medium with a transverse grating

We consider the kick-induced mobility of two-dimensional (2D) fundamental dissipative solitons in models of lasing media based on the 2D complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation including a spatially periodic potential (transverse grating). The depinning threshold is identified by means of systematic simulations, and described by means of an analytical approximation, depending on the orientation of the kick. Various pattern-formation scenarios are found above the threshold. Most typically, the soliton, hopping between potential cells, leaves arrayed patterns of different sizes in its wake. In the laser cavity, this effect may be used as a mechanism for selective pattern formation controlled by the tilt of the seed beam. Freely moving solitons feature two distinct values of the established velocity. Elastic and inelastic collisions between free solitons and pinned arrayed patterns are studied too.

nlin.PS↗

Symmetry breaking in dipolar matter-wave solitons in dual-core couplers

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 supercritical type and subcritical types, respectively. Stability regions are identified for symmetric and asymmetric solitons, and, in addition, for non-bifurcating antisymmetric ones, as well as for symmetric flat states, which may also be stable in the strongly-coupled system, due to competition between the attractive and repulsive intra- and inter-core DDIs. Effects of the contact interactions are considered too. Collisions between moving asymmetric solitons in the weakly-symmetric system feature elastic rebound, merger into a single breather, and passage accompanied by excitation of intrinsic vibrations of the solitons, for small, intermediate, and large collision velocities, respectively. A PT-symmetric version of the weakly-coupled system is briefly considered too, which may be relevant for matter-wave lasers. Stability boundaries for PT-symmetric and antisymmetric solitons are identified.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Stable dark solitons in PT-symmetric dual-core waveguides

We construct dark solitons in the recently introduced model of the nonlinear dual-core coupler with the mutually balanced gain and loss applied to the two cores, which is a realization of parity-time symmetry in nonlinear optics. The main issue is stability of the dark solitons. The modulational stability of the CW (continuous-wave) background, which supports the dark solitons, is studied analytically, and the full stability is investigated in a numerical form, via computation of eigenvalues for modes of small perturbations. Stability regions are thus identified in the parameter space of the system, and verified in direct simulations. Collisions between stable dark solitons are briefly considered too.

physics.optics↗

Asymmetric solitons and domain walls supported by inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinearity

We show that an inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinearity that grows toward the periphery in the positive and negative transverse directions at different rates can support strongly asymmetric fundamental and multipole bright solitons, which are stable in wide parameter regions. In the limiting case when nonlinearity is uniform in one direction, solitons transform into stable domain walls (fronts), with constant or oscillating intensity in the homogeneous region, attached to a tail rapidly decaying in the direction of growing nonlinearity.

physics.optics↗

Quenched dynamics of two-dimensional solitons and vortices in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

We consider a two-dimensional (2D) counterpart of the experiment that led to the creation of quasi-1D bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) [Nature 417, 150--153 (2002)]. We start by identifying the ground state of the 2D Gross-Pitaevskii equation for repulsive interactions, with a harmonic-oscillator (HO) trap, and with or without an optical lattice (OL). Subsequently, we switch the sign of the interaction to induce interatomic attraction and monitor the ensuing dynamics. Regions of the stable self-trapping and catastrophic collapse of 2D fundamental solitons are identified in the parameter plane of the OL strength and BEC norm. The increase of the OL strength expands the persistence domain for the solitons to larger norms. For single-charged solitary vortices, in addition to the survival and collapse regimes, an intermediate one is identified, where the vortex resists the collapse but loses its structure, transforming into a fundamental soliton. The same setting may also be implemented in the context of optical solitons and vortices, using photonic-crystal fibers.

nlin.PS↗

Symbiotic two-component gap solitons

We consider a two-component one-dimensional model of gap solitons (GSs), which is based on two nonlinear Schrödinger equations, coupled by repulsive XPM (cross-phase-modulation) terms, in the absence of the SPM (self-phase-modulation) nonlinearity. The equations include a periodic potential acting on both components, thus giving rise to GSs of the "symbiotic" type, which exist solely due to the repulsive interaction between the two components. The model may be implemented for "holographic solitons" in optics, and in binary bosonic or fermionic gases trapped in the optical lattice. Fundamental symbiotic GSs are constructed, and their stability is investigated, in the first two finite bandgaps of the underlying spectrum. Symmetric solitons are destabilized, including their entire family in the second bandgap, by symmetry-breaking perturbations above a critical value of the total power. Asymmetric solitons of intra-gap and inter-gap types are studied too, with the propagation constants of the two components falling into the same or different bandgaps, respectively. The increase of the asymmetry between the components leads to shrinkage of the stability areas of the GSs. Inter-gap GSs are stable only in a strongly asymmetric form, in which the first-bandgap component is a dominating one. Intra-gap solitons are unstable in the second bandgap. Unstable two-component GSs are transformed into persistent breathers. In addition to systematic numerical considerations, analytical results are obtained by means of an extended ("tailed") Thomas-Fermi approximation (TFA).

nlin.PS↗

Propagation and collisions of semi-discrete solitons in arrayed and stacked waveguides

We consider shapes and dynamics of semi-discrete solitons (SDSs) in the known model of the set of linearly-coupled waveguides with the intrinsic cubic nonlinearity. The model applies to the description of a planar array of optical fibers, or of a stack of parallel planar waveguides, in the temporal and spatial domains, respectively, as well as to the self-attractive Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) loaded into an array of parallel tunnel-coupled cigar-shaped traps. It was found previously that the interplay of the group-velocity dispersion, discrete diffraction (in the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively) and intrinsic self-focusing gives rise to SDSs in the array. We here develop the variational approximation (VA) and additional analytical methods for the description of the SDSs, and study their mobility and collisions by means of systematic simulations. The VA and an exact solution of the linearized equation in the cores adjacent to the central one produce an accurate description for the family of stable fundamental onsite-centered SDS solutions, as well of surface SDSs in the semi-infinite array. The VA is also presented for transversely unstable intersite-centered solitons. In simulations, the solitons are not mobile in the discrete direction (non-soliton semi-discrete modes may be mobile across the array). Collisions between SDSs traveling in the longitudinal direction feature a threshold separating the passage and merger or destruction. The exact shape of the threshold, considered as a function of the solitons' energy, features irregularities, while its average form is explained analytically. "Shifted" collisions between SDSs centered at adjacent cores are studied too.

physics.optics↗