Effects of structural irregularities on modulational instability phase matching in photonic crystal fibers

The effect of structural irregularities in photonic crystal fibers on scalar and vector modulational instability (MI) processes is studied by numerical simulations and experiments. For an anomalous-dispersion regime pump, variations in core ellipticity as small as 0.5% over length scales of the order of several meters are shown to have a negligible effect on scalar MI, yet they completely suppress vector MI. In contrast, for a normal-dispersion regime pump, vector MI is shown to be robust against such fluctuations.     

All-optical extinction-ratio enhancement of a 160 GHz pulse train by a saturable-absorber vertical microcavity

A vertical-access passive all-optical gate has been used to improve the extinction ratio of a 160 GHz pico-second pulse train at 1555 nm. An extinction ratio enhancement of 6 dB is observed within an 8 nm bandwidth. Such a device is a promising candidate for low-cost all optical reamplication and reshaping (2R) regeneration at 160 Gbits/s.     

A quantitative isoperimetric inequality for fractional perimeters

Recently Frank and Seiringer have shown an isoperimetric inequality for nonlocal perimeter functionals arising from Sobolev seminorms of fractional order. This isoperimetric inequality is improved here in a quantitative form.     

Strong reduction of optimum pump power for efficient wave conversion in optical fibers with dual-frequency circularly polarized pump waves

We present experiments that show achievement of highly efficient generation of parametric sidebands in an optical fiber with dual-frequency, circularly polarized pump waves. An appropriate choice of the separation between the pump frequencies permits a strong reduction of the optimum power for highly efficient frequency conversion.     

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.     

Generation and characterization of 0.6-THz polarization domain-wall trains in an ultralow-birefringence spun fiber

Polarization domain-wall (PDW) trains have been generated at a repetition rate of 0.6 THz in an ultralow-birefringence spun optical fiber and measured by use of an adapted frequency-resolved optical gating technique. Characterization of the intensity and the phase of the PDW train shows complete switching between adjacent domains of counterrotating circular polarizations and directly confirms predictions based on numerical simulations of the incoherently coupled nonlinear Schr?dinger equations.     

Determination of binding constants of hydrophobically end-capped poly(ethylene glycol)s with beta-cyclodextrin by affinity capillary electrophoresis

The formation of inclusion complexes between methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)s (MPEG)s bearing one hydrophobic group (phenyladamantyl) per chain and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) was studied by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The effect of highly sulphated beta-CD (HS-beta-CD) on the migration behaviour of the phenyladamantyl-modified MPEG (MPEG-PhAd) analyte was investigated. It was established that the interaction between the modified PEG and beta-CD involved a 1:1 stoichiometry. Non-linear regression and three usual linearization methods (y-reciprocal, x-reciprocal and double reciprocal) were employed to estimate the binding constants. It was demonstrated that the binding constants were similar (around 400 M(-1)) for two MPEG-PhAd having different chain lengths (2000 and 5000 g/mol).     

Reorganization and growth of metastable alpha-N2 critical nuclei into stable beta-N2 crystals

We report on results on the crystal nucleation and growth of nitrogen. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that while nucleation proceeds into the metastable alpha-phase (i.e., the crystalline phase associated with the lowest free energy barrier of formation), growth of the crystallite proceeds through a reorganization of the nucleus into the thermodynamically stable beta-phase.     

Determination of NMR cogwheel phase cycle with XML

The selection of correct coherence transfer pathways is an essential component of an NMR pulse sequence. This article describes a new method based on the use of web tools (eXtensible Markup Language and eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation) to generate a cogwheel phase cycle for selecting coherence transfer pathways. We illustrate this method with the three-pulse phase-modulated shifted-echo or split-t₁ MQMAS sequences for triple-quantum spin-3/2 systems. After generalization to the different half-integer quadrupole spins, we use the SIMPSON program to confirm our results. Finally, we apply our method to the case of the z-filter 3QMAS sequence for I=3/2 systems.     

Incoherent solitons in instantaneous response nonlinear media

We show theoretically and experimentally in an optical fiber system that solitons can be spontaneously generated from incoherent light in an instantaneous response nonlinear Kerr medium. The theory reveals that the unexpected existence of these incoherent solitons relies on a phase-locking mechanism, which leads to the emergence of a mutual coherence between the incoherent waves that constitute the soliton.