Incoherent modulation instability in instantaneous nonlinear Kerr media

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally in an optical fiber system that partially temporally incoherent light exhibits modulational instability during its propagation in an instantaneous response nonlinear medium. We show that the modulation frequency and gain are substantially increased with respect to the corresponding values of coherent modulational instability.     

超常介质中部分相干光束传输的调制不稳定性研究

超常介质与常规光学介质的一个最重要的区别是前者具有色散磁导率,其折射率呈现出可正可负,这样调制不稳定性出现新特点。借助于Wigner变换,从一般的非线性薛定谔方程出发,得到了部分相干光满足Wigner-Moyal的方程,获得了色散关系和增益谱,揭示了部分相干度不仅可抑制调制不稳定性,而且还可以缩小发生不稳定性的频率范围。     

Structure formation in turbulence as an instability of effective quantum plasma

Structure formation in turbulence can be understood as an instability of “plasma” formed by fluctuations serving as effective particles. These “particles” are quantumlike in the sense that their wavelengths are non-negligible compared to the sizes of background coherent structures. The corresponding “kinetic equation” describes the Wigner matrix of the turbulent field, and the coherent structures serve as collective fields. This formalism is usually applied to manifestly quantumlike or scalar waves. Here, we show how to systematically extend it to more complex systems using compressible Navier–Stokes turbulence as an example. In this case, the fluctuation Hamiltonian is a five-dimensional matrix operator and diverse modulational modes are present. As an illustration, we calculate these modes for a sinusoidal shear flow and find two modulational instabilities. One of them is specific to supersonic flows, and the other one is a Kelvin–Helmholtz-type instability that is a generalization of the known zonostrophic instability. Our calculations are readily extendable to other types of turbulence, for example, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in plasma.     

Modulational instability effects in PSK modulated coherent fiber systems and their reduction by optical loss

We show using the propagating beam technique that if optical loss is neglected, the efficiency of PSK modulation in a coherent fiber system is severely compromised by modulational instability effects at sufficiently high signal powers. We note, however, that the intrinsic optical loss of a single mode fiber will to a large degree counteract the modulational instability and preserve the initial PSK pulse shape.     

Nature of the intrinsic relation between Bloch-band tunneling and modulational instability

In an example of Bose-Einstein condensates embedded in two-dimensional optical lattices, we show that in nonlinear periodic systems modulational instability and interband tunneling are intrinsically related phenomena. By direct numerical simulations we find that tunneling results in attenuation or enhancement of instability. On the other hand, instability results in asymmetric nonlinear tunneling. The effect strongly depends on the band gap structure and it is especially significant in the case of the resonant tunneling. The symmetry of the coherent structures emerging from the instability reflects the symmetry of both the stable and the unstable states between which the tunneling occurs. Our results provide evidence of the profound effect of the band structure on the superfluid-insulator transition.     

Instability and evolution of nonlinearly interacting water waves

We consider the modulational instability of nonlinearly interacting two-dimensional waves in deep water, which are described by a pair of two-dimensional coupled nonlinear Schr?dinger equations. We derive a nonlinear dispersion relation. The latter is numerically analyzed to obtain the regions and the associated growth rates of the modulational instability. Furthermore, we follow the long term evolution of the latter by means of computer simulations of the governing nonlinear equations and demonstrate the formation of localized coherent wave envelopes. Our results should be useful for understanding the formation and nonlinear propagation characteristics of large-amplitude freak waves in deep water.     

Nonlinear generation of sheared flows and zonal magnetic fields by electron whistlers in plasmas

The nonlinear generation of shear field and flow in whistler waves is considered. It is shown that a coherent parametric process leads to modulational instability of four waves whistler interaction. Growth rates for the flow/field are compared with published simulation results.     

Optical beam instabilities in nonlinear nanosuspensions

We investigate the modulation instability of plane waves and the transverse instabilities of soliton stripe beams propagating in nonlinear nanosuspensions. We show that in these systems the process of modulational instability depends on the input beam conditions. On the other hand, the transverse instability of soliton stripes can exhibit new features as a result of 1D collapse caused by the exponential nonlinearity.     

具有饱和非线性的非克尔光纤的调制不稳定性

理论上分析了当存在高阶色散时具有饱和非线性的非克尔光纤的调制不稳定性.三阶色散对调制不稳定性没有影响,四阶色散效应导致在正常和反常色散区出现了新的调制不稳定区.并且对比了不同他和参数的增益谱,在新的调制不稳定区,发现同样有一个临界调制频率对应两个入射功率的现象.     

Modulational instability of optically induced nematicon propagation

We report the modulational instability （MI） analysis for the modulation equations governing the propagation of coherent polarized light through a nematic liquid crystal （NLC） slab, in the limit of low light intensity and local material response. The linear stability analysis of the nonlinear plane wave solutions is performed by considering both the wave vectors （k,l） of the basic states and wave vectors （K,L） of the perturbations as free parameters. We compute the MI gain, and the MI gain peak is reduced and the stable bandwidth is widened with the increase of the strength of the applied electric field. Further, we invoke the extended homogeneous balance method and Exp-function method aided with symbolic computation and obtain a series of periodic solitonic humps of nematicon profiles admitting the propagation of laser light in the NLC medium.     

Suppression of the frequency drift of modulational instability sidebands by means of a fiber system associated with a photon reservoir

We analyze fiber systems where the linear losses act as a strong perturbation, causing a frequency drift of the modulational instability sidebands. We achieve the total suppression of this frequency drift by means of a technique based on the concept of a photon reservoir, which feeds in situ the process of modulational instability by continually supplying it the amount of photons absorbed by the fiber.     

Continuous-wave ultrahigh-repetition-rate pulse-train generation through modulational instability in a passive fiber cavity

Thanks to a passive cavity configuration, modulational instability in fibers is successfully observed, for the first time to our knowledge, in the continuous-wave regime. Our technique provides a new means of generating all-optically ultrahigh-repetition-rate pulse trains and opens up new possibilities for the fundamental study of modulational instability and related phenomena.     

Multiple four-wave mixing-induced modulational instability in highly birefringent fibers

Theoretical and experimental results are presented that illustrate efficient generation of new optical frequencies by means of induced modulational instability in birefringent fibers for an initially highly phase-mismatched process. Modulational instability is assisted by multiple four-wave mixing interactions. This technique relaxes the strict spectral limitations imposed by the phase-matching conditions on the signal used for frequency conversion by means of modulational instability.     

Multiple ionization in fast ion-atom collisions: simultaneous measurement of recoil momentum and projectile energy loss

The stability of nonlinear laser light filaments in a homogeneous isothermal plasma with respect to coupled electromagnetic and density perturbations is examined. In addition to the previously known modulational instability of a trapped electromagnetic mode, a new fast growing resonant instability is found. It corresponds to the growth of an excited eigenmode in the waveguide formed by the filament density depletion, the associated density response being supersonic and transversally localized. The evolution of the instability is illustrated by numerical simulations in two and three spatial dimensions.     

On Modulational Interaction of the Lower-Hybrid Drift Oscillations

The general nonlinear equation of the third order in field strength for the lower-hybrid drift waves in inhomogeneous plasma is obtained on the basis of kinetic theory. This equation enables us to describe strong turbulence effects (modulational instability, soliton-like solutions, etc.) as well as weak turbulence effects (decays, scattering). The investigation of the modulational instability of the lower-hybrid drift waves is carried out. It is demonstrated that the development of the lower-hybrid drift wave modulational instability is possible only when the wavevector of the modulational perturbations is less or of the order of the wavevector of the pump wave. The condition on the wave vectors, when the nonlinear response defining the character of the modulational instability is determined by the inhomogeneity effects, is obtained.     

零色散附近的交叉相位调制不稳定性分析

以三、四阶色散项的耦合非线性薛定谔方程为基础,考虑光纤损耗及高阶色散,研究了双光束在零色散附近的交叉相位调制不稳定性.理论上导出描述交叉相位调制不稳定性的色散方程,并进行数值模拟计算.结果表明：由于四阶色散的影响,在光纤的正常、反常色散区,交叉相位调制不稳定性均发生在两个频谱区.如光脉冲工作在最小群速度色散附近时,四阶色散对光纤的交叉相位调制不稳定性将起决定性作用,可使增益谱出现一个新的峰值.光纤损耗使增益的谱宽变窄.对给定的传输距离,随着光纤向零色散附近靠近,两个频谱区谱宽增加直到相互重叠.数值分析了两光波有差别时的交叉相位调制不稳定性.     

Competition between modulational instability and switching in optical bistability

We study theoretically and experimentally the switching dynamics of a nonlinear optical bistable system that exhibits modulational instability in the vicinity of its lower limit point. We show that modulational instability induces premature upswitching and, in this way, truncates the bistable cycle. The role of the modulation instability is identified experimentally through the observation of the transient pattern formation that precedes upswitching. Our experiment illustrates the importance of cooperative behavior in practical distributed bistable systems.     

玻色凝聚的原子自旋链中的非线性自旋波

研究了囚禁在光晶格中的旋量玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体(BEC)形成的原子自旋链中的相干非线性自旋波的激发与调制不稳定性.通过解析分析，得到了调制不稳定性的一般判据以及其对原子自旋的长程耦合的依赖关系.在蓝失谐和红失谐光晶格的情况下，分别具体分析了长程非线性自旋耦合，包括光诱导的和静磁诱导的偶极-偶极相互作用对相干自旋波调制不稳定性的影响.     

Propagation dynamics of relativistic electromagnetic solitary wave as well as modulational instability in plasmas

By one-dimensional particle-in-cell(PIC) simulations, the propagation and stability of relativistic electromagnetic(EM) solitary waves as well as modulational instability of plane EM waves are studied in uniform cold electron-ion plasmas.The investigation not only confirms the solitary wave motion characteristics and modulational instability theory, but more importantly, gives the following findings. For a simulation with the plasma density 10²³ m^-3 and the dimensionless vector potential amplitude 0.18, it is found that the EM solitary wave can stably propagate when the carrier wave frequency is smaller than 3.83 times of the plasma frequency. While for the carrier wave frequency larger than that, it can excite a very weak Langmuir oscillation, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the transverse electron momentum and may in turn modulate the EM solitary wave and cause the modulational instability, so that the solitary wave begins to deform after a long enough distance propagation. The stable propagation distance before an obvious observation of instability increases(decreases) with the increase of the carrier wave frequency(vector potential amplitude). The study on the plane EM wave shows that a modulational instability may occur and its wavenumber is approximately equal to the modulational wavenumber by Langmuir oscillation and is independent of the carrier wave frequency and the vector potential amplitude.This reveals the role of the Langmuir oscillation excitation in the inducement of modulational instability and also proves the modulational instability of EM solitary wave.