arXiv subjects

Sean Nixon

Publications and source records attributed to Sean Nixon.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Unified approach to Floquet lattices, topological insulators, and their nonlinear dynamics

A unified method to analyze the dynamics and topological structure associated with a class of Floquet topological insulators is presented. The method is applied to a system that describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves through the bulk of a two-dimensional lattice that is helically-driven in the direction of propagation. Tight-binding approximations are employed to derive reduced dynamical systems. Further asymptotic approximations, valid in the high-frequency driving regime, yield a time-averaged system which governs the leading order behavior of the wave. From this follows an analytic calculation of the Berry connection, curvature and Chern number by analyzing the local behavior of the eigenfunctions near the critical points of the spectrum. Examples include honeycomb, Lieb and kagome lattices. In the nonlinear regime novel equations governing slowly varying wave envelopes are derived. For the honeycomb lattice, numerical simulations show that for relatively small nonlinear effects a striking spiral patterns occurs; as nonlinearity increases localized structures emerge and for somewhat higher nonlinearity the waves collapse.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Stability of soliton families in nonlinear Schroedinger equations with non-parity-time-symmetric complex potentials

Stability of soliton families in one-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equations with non-parity-time (PT)-symmetric complex potentials is investigated numerically. It is shown that these solitons can be linearly stable in a wide range of parameter values both below and above phase transition. In addition, a pseudo-Hamiltonian-Hopf bifurcation is revealed, where pairs of purely-imaginary eigenvalues in the linear-stability spectra of solitons collide and bifurcate off the imaginary axis, creating oscillatory instability, which resembles Hamiltonian-Hopf bifurcations of solitons in Hamiltonian systems even though the present system is dissipative and non-Hamiltonian. The most important numerical finding is that, eigenvalues of linear-stability operators of these solitons appear in quartets $(λ, -λ, λ^*, -λ^*)$, similar to conservative systems and PT-symmetric systems. This quartet eigenvalue symmetry is very surprising for non-PT-symmetric systems, and it has far-reaching consequences on the stability behaviors of solitons.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Nonlinear light behaviors near phase transition in non-parity-time-symmetric complex waveguides

Many classes of non-parity-time (PT) symmetric waveguides with arbitrary gain and loss distributions still possess all-real linear spectrum or exhibit phase transition. In this article, nonlinear light behaviors in these complex waveguides are probed analytically near a phase transition. Using multi-scale perturbation methods, a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) is derived for the light's amplitude evolution. This ODE predicts that the first class of these non-PT-symmetric waveguides support continuous families of solitons and robust amplitude-oscillating solutions both above and below phase transition, in close analogy with PT-symmetric systems. For the other classes of waveguides, the light's intensity always amplifies under the effect of nonlinearity even if the waveguide is below phase transition. These analytical predictions are confirmed by direct computations of the full system.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

All-real spectra in optical systems with arbitrary gain and loss distributions

A method for constructing optical potentials with an arbitrary distribution of gain and loss and completely real spectrum is presented. For each arbitrary distribution of gain and loss, several classes of refractive-index profiles with freely tunable parameters are obtained such that the resulting complex potentials, although being non-parity-time-symmetric in general, still feature all-real spectra for a wide range of tuning parameters. When these refractive indices are tuned below certain thresholds, phase transition can occur, where complex-conjugate pairs of eigenvalues appear in the spectrum. These non-parity-time-symmetric complex potentials generalize the concept of parity-time-symmetric potentials to allow for more flexible gain and loss distributions while still maintaining all-real spectra and the phenomenon of phase transition.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Bifurcation of soliton families from linear modes in non-PT-symmetric complex potentials

Continuous families of solitons in generalized nonlinear Schödinger equations with non-PT-symmetric complex potentials are studied analytically. Under a weak assumption, it is shown that stationary equations for solitons admit a constant of motion if and only if the complex potential is of a special form $g^2(x)+ig'(x)$, where $g(x)$ is an arbitrary real function. Using this constant of motion, the second-order complex soliton equation is reduced to a new second-order real equation for the amplitude of the soliton. From this real soliton equation, a novel perturbation technique is employed to show that continuous families of solitons always bifurcate out from linear discrete modes in these non-PT-symmetric complex potentials. All analytical results are corroborated by numerical examples.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2015

Nonlinear wave dynamics near phase transition in $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric localized potentials

Nonlinear wave propagation in parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric localized potentials is investigated analytically near a phase-transition point where a pair of real eigenvalues of the potential coalesce and bifurcate into the complex plane. Necessary conditions for phase transition to occur are derived based on a generalization of the Krein signature. Using multi-scale perturbation analysis, a reduced nonlinear ODE model is derived for the amplitude of localized solutions near phase transition. Above phase transition, this ODE model predicts a family of stable solitons not bifurcating from linear (infinitesimal) modes under a certain sign of nonlinearity. In addition, it predicts periodically-oscillating nonlinear modes away from solitons. Under the opposite sign of nonlinearity, it predicts unbounded growth of solutions. Below phase transition, solution dynamics is predicted as well. All analytical results are compared to direct computations of the full system and good agreement is observed.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2014

Light propagation in periodically modulated complex waveguides

Light propagation in optical waveguides with periodically modulated index of refraction and alternating gain and loss are investigated for linear and nonlinear systems. Based on a multiscale perturbation analysis, it is shown that for many non-parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetric waveguides, their linear spectrum is partially complex, thus light exponentially grows or decays upon propagation, and this growth or delay is not altered by nonlinearity. However, several classes of non-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric waveguides are also identified to possess all-real linear spectrum. In the nonlinear regime longitudinally periodic and transversely quasi-localized modes are found for $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric waveguides both above and below phase transition. These nonlinear modes are stable under evolution and can develop from initially weak initial conditions.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Exponential asymptotics for solitons in PT-symmetric periodic potentials

Solitons in one-dimensional parity-time (PT)-symmetric periodic potentials are studied using exponential asymptotics. The new feature of this exponential asymptotics is that, unlike conservative periodic potentials, the inner and outer integral equations arising in this analysis are both coupled systems due to complex-valued solitons. Solving these coupled systems, we show that two soliton families bifurcate out from each Bloch-band edge for either self-focusing or self-defocusing nonlinearity. An asymptotic expression for the eigenvalues associated with the linear stability of these soliton families is also derived. This formula shows that one of these two soliton families near band edges is always unstable, while the other can be stable. In addition, infinite families of PT-symmetric multi-soliton bound states are constructed by matching the exponentially small tails from two neighboring solitons. These analytical predictions are compared with numerics. Overall agreements are observed, and minor differences explained.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2013

Exponential asymptotics for line solitons in two-dimensional periodic potentials

As a first step toward a fully two-dimensional asymptotic theory for the bifurcation of solitons from infinitesimal continuous waves, an analytical theory is presented for line solitons, whose envelope varies only along one direction, in general two-dimensional periodic potentials. For this two-dimensional problem, it is no longer viable to rely on a certain recurrence relation for going beyond all orders of the usual multi-scale perturbation expansion, a key step of the exponential asymptotics procedure previously used for solitons in one-dimensional problems. Instead, we propose a more direct treatment which not only overcomes the recurrence-relation limitation, but also simplifies the exponential asymptotics process. Using this modified technique, we show that line solitons with any rational line slopes bifurcate out from every Bloch-band edge; and for each rational slope, two line-soliton families exist. Furthermore, line solitons can bifurcate from interior points of Bloch bands as well, but such line solitons exist only for a couple of special line angles due to resonance with the Bloch bands. In addition, we show that a countable set of multi-line-soliton bound states can be constructed analytically. The analytical predictions are compared with numerical results for both symmetric and asymmetric potentials, and good agreement is obtained.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2013

Pyramid diffraction in parity-time-symmetric optical lattices

Nonlinear dynamics of wave packets in two-dimensional parity-time-symmetric optical lattices near the phase-transition point are analytically studied. A novel fourth-order equation is derived for the envelope of these wave packets. A pyramid diffraction pattern is demonstrated in both the linear and nonlinear regimes. Blow-up is also possible in the nonlinear regime for both focusing and defocusing nonlinearities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Nonlinear dynamics of wave packets in PT-symmetric optical lattices near the phase transition point

Nonlinear dynamics of wave packets in PT-symmetric optical lattices near the phase-transition point are analytically studied. A nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation is derived for the envelope of these wave packets. A variety of novel phenomena known to exist in this envelope equation are shown to also exist in the full equation including wave blowup, periodic bound states and solitary wave solutions.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Stability analysis for solitons in PT-symmetric optical lattices

Stability of solitons in parity-time (PT)-symmetric periodic potentials (optical lattices) is analyzed in both one- and two-dimensional systems. First we show analytically that when the strength of the gain-loss component in the PT lattice rises above a certain threshold (phase-transition point), an infinite number of linear Bloch bands turn complex simultaneously. Second, we show that while stable families of solitons can exist in PT lattices, increasing the gain-loss component has an overall destabilizing effect on soliton propagation. Specifically, when the gain-loss component increases, the parameter range of stable solitons shrinks as new regions of instability appear. Thirdly, we investigate the nonlinear evolution of unstable PT solitons under perturbations, and show that the energy of perturbed solitons can grow unbounded even though the PT lattice is below the phase transition point.

physics.optics↗