Quantum Solitons and Localized Modes in a One-Dimensional Lattice Chain with Nonlinear Substrate Potential

In the classical lattice theory, solitons and localized modes can exist in many one-dimensional nonlinear lattice chains, however, in the quantum lattice theory, whether quantum solitons and localized modes can exist or not in the one-dimensional lattice chains is an interesting problem. By using the number state method and the Hartree approximation combined with the method of multiple scales, we investigate quantum solitons and localized modes in a one-dimensional lattice chain with the nonlinear substrate potential. It is shown that quantum solitons do exist in this nonlinear lattice chain, and at the boundary of the phonon Brillouin zone, quantum solitons become quantum localized modes, phonons are pinned to the lattice of the vicinity at the central position j=j₀.     

Solitons pinned to hot spots

We generalize a recently proposed model based on the cubic complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation, which gives rise to stable dissipative solitons supported by localized gain applied at a “hot spot” (HS), in the presence of the linear loss in the bulk. We introduce a model with the Kerr nonlinearity concentrated at the HS, together with the local gain and, possibly, with the local nonlinear loss. The model, which may be implemented in laser cavities based on planar waveguides, gives rise to exact solutions for pinned dissipative solitons. In the case when the HS does not include the localized nonlinear loss, numerical tests demonstrate that these solitons are stable/unstable if the localized nonlinearity is self-defocusing/focusing. Another new setting considered in this work is a pair of two symmetric HSs. We find exact asymmetric solutions for it, although they are unstable. Numerical simulations demonstrate that stable modes supported by the HS pair tend to be symmetric. An unexpected conclusion is that the interaction between breathers pinned to two broad HSs, which are the only stable modes in isolation in that case, transforms them into a static symmetric mode.     

Two-dimensional matter-wave solitons and vortices in competing cubic-quintic nonlinear lattices

The nonlinear lattice — a new and nonlinear class of periodic potentials — was recently introduced to generate various nonlinear localized modes. Several attempts failed to stabilize two-dimensional (2D) solitons against their intrinsic critical collapse in Kerr media. Here, we provide a possibility for supporting 2D matter-wave solitons and vortices in an extended setting — the cubic and quintic model — by introducing another nonlinear lattice whose period is controllable and can be different from its cubic counterpart, to its quintic nonlinearity, therefore making a fully “nonlinear quasi-crystal”.A variational approximation based on Gaussian ansatz is developed for the fundamental solitons and in particular, their stability exactly follows the inverted Vakhitov–Kolokolov stability criterion, whereas the vortex solitons are only studied by means of numerical methods. Stability regions for two types of localized mode — the fundamental and vortex solitons — are provided. A noteworthy feature of the localized solutions is that the vortex solitons are stable only when the period of the quintic nonlinear lattice is the same as the cubic one or when the quintic nonlinearity is constant, while the stable fundamental solitons can be created under looser conditions. Our physical setting (cubic-quintic model) is in the framework of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation or nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the predicted localized modes thus may be implemented in Bose–Einstein condensates and nonlinear optical media with tunable cubic and quintic nonlinearities.     

Higher-order solitons in amplitude-disordered waveguide arrays

We investigate the existence and stability of different families of spatial solitons in optical waveguide arrays whose amplitudes obey a disordered distribution. The competition between focusing nonlinearity and linearly disordered refractive index modulation results in the formation of spatial localized nonlinear states. Solitons originating from Anderson modes with few nodes are robust during propagation. While multi-peaked solitons with in-phase neighboring components are completely unstable, multipole-mode solitons whose neighboring components are out-of-phase can propagate stably in wide parameter regions provided that their power exceeds a critical value. Our findings, thus, provide the first example of stable higher-order nonlinear states in disordered systems.     

Stable radially symmetric and azimuthally modulated vortex solitons supported by localized gain

We discover that a spatially localized gain supports stable vortex solitons in media with cubic nonlinearity and two-photon absorption. The interplay between nonlinear losses and gain in amplifying rings results in the suppression of otherwise ubiquitous azimuthal modulation instabilities of radially symmetric vortex solitons. We find that the topology of the gain profile imposes restrictions on the maximal possible charge of vortex solitons. Symmetry breaking occurs at high gain levels, resulting in the formation of necklace vortex solitons composed of asymmetric bright spots.     

Nonlinear localized modes at phase-slip defects in waveguide arrays

We study light localization at a phase-slip defect created by two semi-infinite mismatched identical arrays of coupled optical waveguides. We demonstrate that the nonlinear defect modes possess the specific properties of both nonlinear surface modes and discrete solitons. We analyze the stability of the localized modes and their generation in both linear and nonlinear regimes.     

Solitons in a medium with linear dissipation and localized gain

We present a variety of dissipative solitons and breathing modes in a medium with localized gain and homogeneous linear dissipation. The system possesses a number of unusual properties, like exponentially localized modes in both focusing and defocusing media, existence of modes in focusing media at negative propagation constant values, simultaneous existence of stable symmetric and antisymmetric localized modes when the gain landscape possesses two local maxima, as well as the existence of stable breathing solutions.     

Electromagnetic envelope solitons in magnetized plasma

A multiple scales technique is employed to solve the fluid-Maxwell equations describing a weakly nonlinear circularly polarized electromagnetic pulse in magnetized plasma. A nonlinear Schrödinger-type (NLS) equation is shown to govern the amplitude of the vector potential. The conditions for modulational instability and for the existence of various types of localized envelope modes are investigated in terms of relevant parameters. Right-hand circularly polarized (RCP) waves are shown to be modulationally unstable regardless of the value of the ambient magnetic field and propagate as bright-type solitons. The same is true for left-hand circularly polarized (LCP) waves in a weakly to moderately magnetized plasma. In other parameter regions, LCP waves are stable in strongly magnetized plasmas and may propagate as dark-type solitons (electric field holes). The evolution of envelope solitons is analyzed numerically, and it is shown that solitons propagate in magnetized plasma without any essential change in amplitude and shape.     

Fundamental solitons in discrete lattices with a delayed nonlinear response

The formation of unstaggered localized modes in dynamical lattices can be supported by the interplay of discreteness and nonlinearity with a finite relaxation time. In rapidly responding nonlinear media, on-site discrete solitons are stable, and their broad intersite counterparts are marginally stable, featuring a virtually vanishing real instability eigenvalue. The solitons become unstable in the case of the slowly relaxing nonlinearity. The character of the instability alters with the increase of the delay time, which leads to a change in the dynamics of unstable discrete solitons. They form robust localized breathers in rapidly relaxing media, and decay into oscillatory diffractive pattern in the lattices with a slow nonlinear response. Marginally stable solitons can freely move across the lattice.     

Dynamics of bright discrete staggered solitons in photovoltaic photorefractive media

Theoretical results on spatial optical bright solitons excited in arrays of nonlinear defocusing waveguides, that result from the photovoltaic effect in a photorefractive material, are presented. The existence of four types of stationary discrete bright staggered solitons, on-site, inter-site, twisted inter-site, and twisted on-site solitons, is shown both analytically and numerically, and their stability properties are investigated. The maximum Hamiltonian of staggered solitons with the same total power corresponds to stable modes. It is shown that for low total power the on-site mode is stable while in the high power regime the inter-site mode is stable. These results are confirmed numerically. In addition, steering properties of localized modes are investigated by introducing a transversal translational shift. Because of the translational symmetry between on-site and inter-site localized modes they are considered as two dynamical realizations of the same moving mode, and the formalism of the Peierls-Nabarro effective potential is applied to interpret the exchange between trapping and steering of these modes. This critically depends on the mode’s total power and the introduced phase difference. On the other hand, steering of twisted inter-site and on-site localized modes is not numerically observed. Instead, transversal perturbation leads to a transformation of twisted modes either into a trapped on-site mode of smaller power and radiation, or into two trapped on-site modes.     

Rotating vortex solitons supported by localized gain

We show that ringlike localized gain landscapes imprinted in focusing cubic (Kerr) nonlinear media with strong two-photon absorption support new types of stable higher-order vortex solitons containing multiple phase singularities nested inside a single core. The phase singularities are found to rotate around the center of the gain landscape, with the rotation period being determined by the strength of the gain and the nonlinear absorption.     

Soliton complexes and flat-top nonlinear modes in optical lattices

We describe a continuous analog of the quasirectangular flat-top nonlinear modes earlier found for discrete nonlinear models. We show that these novel nonlinear modes can be understood as multi-soliton complexes with either in-phase or out-of-phase neighboring solitons trapped by the periodic potential of the lattice. We demonstrate a link between the flat-top states and the truncated nonlinear Bloch waves, and discuss how these nonlinear localized modes can be monitored experimentally in photonics and Bose–Einstein condensates. PACS 42.65.Tg; 42.65.Jx; 03.75.Lm     

Asymmetric vortex solitons in nonlinear periodic lattices

We reveal the existence of asymmetric vortex solitons in ideally symmetric periodic lattices and show how such nonlinear localized structures describing elementary circular flows can be analyzed systematically using the energy-balance relations. We present the examples of rhomboid, rectangular, and triangular vortex solitons on a square lattice and also describe novel coherent states where the populations of clockwise and anticlockwise vortex modes change periodically due to a nonlinearity-induced momentum exchange through the lattice. Asymmetric vortex solitons are expected to exist in different nonlinear lattice systems, including optically induced photonic lattices, nonlinear photonic crystals, and Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices.     

Discrete solitons and nonlinear surface modes in semi-infinite waveguide arrays

We discuss the formation of self-trapped localized states near the edge of a semi-infinite array of nonlinear optical waveguides. We study a crossover from nonlinear surface states to discrete solitons by analyzing the families of odd and even modes centered at finite distances from the surface and reveal the physical mechanism of the nonlinearity-induced stabilization of surface modes.     

Power controlled soliton stability and steering in lattices with saturable nonlinearity

Dynamical properties of discrete solitons in nonlinear Schr?dinger lattices with saturable nonlinearity are studied in the framework of the one-dimensional discrete Vinetskii-Kukhtarev model. Two stationary strongly localized modes, centered on site (A) and between two neighboring sites (B), are obtained. The associated Peierls-Nabarro potential is bounded and has multiple zeros indicating strong implications on the stability and dynamics of the localized modes. Besides a stable propagation of mode A, a stable propagation of mode B is also possible. The enhanced ability of the large power solitons to move across the lattice is pointed out and numerically verified.     

Properties of pulsating solitons in dissipative systems

<正>In this paper,a set of detailed numerical simulations of pulsating solitons in certain regions,where the pulsating solitons exist,have been carried out.The results show that the transformation between pulsating soliton and fronts can be realized through a series of period-doubling bifurcations,while there exist many kinds of special solutions.The complete transformation diagram has been obtained when the value of nonlinear gain varies within a definite range.The detailed analysis of the diagram reveals that the pulsating soliton experiences period-doubling bifurcations for smaller values of the nonlinear gain.For larger values of it,the pulsating solitons show chaotic behaviour and complex pulse splitting except for some special bifurcations.With the value of nonlinear gain increasing further,the pulse profiles resume pulsating,but the pulse energy is much higher than before and the pulse centre may move along the propagation direction.     

Conservative and dissipative fiber Bragg solitons (a review)

We present a comparative review of two classes of optical solitons—conservative and dissipative solitons—propagating in single-mode optical fibers in which refractive-index gratings are induced such that their period is comparable with the radiation wavelength. Fibers that have the Kerr nonlinearity and negligibly small losses and that do not gain radiation (conservative system) are described by traditional equations of the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes, and effects caused by the nonlinearity of the medium, such as nonlinear switching, optical bistability, and formation of conservative Bragg solitons are considered. It is shown that the passage beyond the scope of the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes makes it possible to describe new important effects, including localization of soliton centers near maxima of the refractive-index grating. Bright and dark conservative solitons are demonstrated, which are formed when the Kerr nonlinearity is replaced by the nonlinearity of two-level atomic systems. The properties of conservative solitons in resonance semiconductor Bragg structures with quantum wells are considered. Results of experimental studies of nonlinear effects in fibers with Bragg gratings are presented. For an active single-mode fiber with a Bragg refractive-index grating and nonlinear gain and absorption, dissipative solitons are described using the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes and inertialess nonlinearity. It is shown that the dissipative factors qualitatively change the properties of solitons compared to the conservative case. Using the Maxwell-Bloch equations, it is demonstrated that the ratio between the gain and absorption relaxation times significantly affects the stability of localized structures. The interaction of dissipative optical Bragg solitons is described. It is shown that, beyond the scope of the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes, the average velocity of propagating dissipative Bragg solitons acquires only discrete values, and formation of pairs of solitons with two values of the phase difference becomes possible. For a birefringent fiber, dissipative vector optical Bragg solitons are demonstrated.     

Surface solitons in trilete lattices

Fundamental solitons pinned to the interface between three semi-infinite one-dimensional nonlinear dynamical chains, coupled at a single site, are investigated. The light propagation in the respective system with the self-attractive on-site cubic nonlinearity, which can be implemented as an array of nonlinear optical waveguides, is modeled by the system of three discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equations. The formation, stability and dynamics of symmetric and asymmetric fundamental solitons centered at the interface are investigated analytically by means of the variational approximation (VA) and in a numerical form. The VA predicts that two asymmetric and two antisymmetric branches exist in the entire parameter space, while four asymmetric modes and the symmetric one can be found below some critical value of the inter-lattice coupling parameter—actually, past the symmetry-breaking bifurcation. At this bifurcation point, the symmetric branch is destabilized and two new asymmetric soliton branches appear, one stable and the other unstable. In this area, the antisymmetric branch changes its character, getting stabilized against oscillatory perturbations. In direct simulations, unstable symmetric modes radiate a part of their power, staying trapped around the interface. Highly unstable asymmetric modes transform into localized breathers traveling from the interface region across the lattice without significant power loss.     

Stationary wave packets in the Kerr nonlinear media with imaginary harmonic potential and linear gain

The existence of stationary wave packets in the nonlinear Kerr media with an imaginary harmonic potential and a linear gain is investigated. By employing a variational approach the existence of stable bright solitons is shown for the case of a defocusing nonlinearity. In focusing nonlinear media, the bright solitons have been shown to be unstable. The predictions of variational approach are confirmed by numerical simulations of the full modified NLS equation. The predicted stationary localized wave packets can be observed in a quasi-one-dimensional BEC with an imaginary optical potential and atoms feeding.     

Interface localized modes and hybrid lattice solitons in waveguide arrays

We discuss the formation of guided modes localized at the interface separating two different periodic photonic lattices. Employing the effective discrete model, we analyze linear and nonlinear interface modes and also predict the existence of stable interface solitons including the hybrid staggered/unstaggered lattice solitons with the tails belonging to spectral gaps of different types.