Spatial localization and pattern formation in discrete optomechanical cavities and arrays

We investigate theoretically the generation of nonlinear dissipative structures in optomechanical (OM) systems containing discrete arrays of mechanical resonators. We consider both hybrid models in which the optical system is a continuous multimode field, as it would happen in an OM cavity containing an array of micro-mirrors, and also fully discrete models in which each mechanical resonator interacts with a single optical mode, making contact with Ludwig & Marquardt [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 073603 (2013)]. Also, we study the connections between both types of models and continuous OM models. While all three types of models merge naturally in the limit of a large number of densely distribu…

Creating highly squeezed vacua in hybrid Laguerre-Gauss modes

In this communication we study the above threshold quantum properties of a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (DOPO) tuned to a given transverse mode family at the signal frequency. We will show that under this configuration DOPOs are versatile sources of nonclassical light, in which one could be able to generate highly squeezed vacua with the non trivial shapes of Hybrid Laguerre-Gauss modes.

Transverse effects in a thin slab of material with local-field induced intrinsic optical bistability

We consider a thin slab of dense material exhibiting local-field induced intrinsic optical bistability irradiated by a transversely uniform optical field (holding beam). We study the transverse effects that can arise when local excitations are created by means of a narrow optical beam (writing beam). We show that whereas diffraction effects are negligible, diffusion effects make the excitation-domain walls to move inward or outward in the transverse direction, with a speed that depends on the holding-beam intensity and the diffusion coefficient. Conditions can be found, however, for which the wall movement is counterbalanced by the field transverse gradient so that stable narrow excitation …

The dynamics of optically pumped molecular lasers. On its relation with the Lorenz - Haken model

In this paper we review the work on dynamical instabilities in optically pumped molecular lasers (OPLs) that has been carried out during the last 15 years. The main purpose of this review article is to survey and extend the authors' work on optically pumped molecular lasers and to place it in context with other research done in this area, without being a comprehensive review of all previous work done on this topic. In particular, we concentrate on the theoretical interpretation of the Lorenz dynamics observed in the far-infrared ammonia laser by reviewing the results obtained with different models of OPLs. New results corresponding to the dynamics obtained with the Doppler-broadened OPL mod…

Nonlinear dynamics of a two-photon Fabry–Pérot laser

Abstract The steady-state emission, stability and temporal dynamics of a single-mode two-photon laser with a Fabry–Perot cavity is investigated and compared with that of a ring-cavity laser. It is found that the Fabry–Perot cavity makes the laser less efficient than the ring cavity because of spatial hole burning, but the domain of stability is larger for the Fabry–Perot laser. The intensity and phase dynamics are numerically investigated and distinctive features are found in the phase dynamics as compared with one-photon lasers.

Type-II intermittency in a cascade laser model

Transverse effects in ring fiber laser multimode instabilities

We study the influence of the transverse structure of pump and lasing fields and of the width of the doped region on the conditions for the appearance of the multimode instability in an ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$-doped ring fiber laser. We show that the instability can be inhibited while maintaining a large output power when the radius of the doped region is a fraction of the core radius.

Models, predictions, and experimental measurements of far-infrared NH3-laser dynamics and comparisons with the Lorenz-Haken model

Dynamics of the intensity and optical field amplitude of a coherently pumped far-infrared NH3-laser are measured and characterized. The experimental findings in certain parameter ranges closely follow the dynamics of the Lorenz model and its generalization for laser systems. Similarities and some specific differences are found in geometrical or statistical characterizations of the attractors. The experimental results are also consistent with the results of a model of optically pumped three-level lasers which takes into account the presence of a multiplicity of velocity groups as well as three-level coherence effects. For a certain region in parameter space, this far more complex model with …

Squeezing induced by spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking

In this communication we study in depth the phenomenon of quadrature squeezing generated via spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking discussed for the first time in [1]. The idea can be put in short as follows. Consider a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (DOPO) tuned to the first family of transverse modes at the signal frequency, and having perfectly spherical mirrors. When pumped above threshold with a Gaussian beam and within a classical description, it is easy to show that a TEM 10 mode with an arbitrary orientation (measured by θ at Fig. 1) emerges at the subharmonic, hence breaking the rotational symmetry of the system in the transverse plane. Quantum effects are then quite i…

Lorenz character of the Doppler-broadened far-infrared laser

The dynamic behavior of an optically pumped Doppler-broadened single-mode far-infrared laser is theoretically investigated in detail and compared with that of the simpler Lorenz–Haken laser. Through the analysis of phase diagrams, three-dimensional attractor’s projections, intensity maps, and the different terms of the laser equations, the analogies and the differences between the two models are determined. Optical pumping and Doppler broadening, present in this far-infrared laser model, can be approximately incorporated into a Lorenz–Haken model with effective parameters. These results represent a further step toward the understanding of the Lorenz-like behavior observed in recent years in…

Nonlinear Resonance Effects in Pattern Formation in Optical Parametric Oscillators

Role of field losses on the Risken?Nummedal?Graham?Haken laser instability: application to erbium-doped fibre lasers

We analyse the effect of both distributed and localised losses in a laser cavity on the Risken–Nummedal–Graham–Haken multimode instability. For two-level lasers, distributed losses are found to have a negligible influence on the instability conditions as long as they remain below 10 dB, a value hardly ever exceeded under common experimental conditions. If one keeps raising the distributed loss above that value, finally the uniform-field-limit results are recovered: localised loss becomes less and less important, and in the limit does not enter at all. In contrast, for three-level lasers – in particular for erbium-doped fibre lasers – distributed losses are found to have a profound quantitat…

Vectorial Kerr-cavity solitons.

It is shown that a Kerr cavity with different losses for the two polarization components of the field can support both dark and bright cavity solitons (CS’s). A parametrically driven Ginzburg–Landau equation is shown to describe the system for large-cavity anisotropy. In one transverse dimension the nonlinear dynamics of the bright CS’s is numerically investigated.

Laser instabilities in a Gaussian cavity mode with Gaussian pump profile

We analytically demonstrate that both single-mode and multimode instabilities may occur in a Gaussian-cavity-mode laser model with Gaussian pump profile. As a necessary condition, the ratio of the beam waist to the pump waist must exceed a given limiting value, which depends on the population decay rate. For an infinitely concentrated pump the plane-wave model instability thresholds are recovered, and there exists an optimum value of the waists ratio for which the second laser threshold is minimum.

Phase-bistable patterns and cavity solitons induced by spatially periodic injection into vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Spatial rocking is a kind of resonant forcing able to convert a self-oscillatory system into a phase-bistable, pattern forming system, whereby the phase of the spatially averaged oscillation field locks to one of two values differing by $\ensuremath{\pi}$. We propose the spatial rocking in an experimentally relevant system---the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)---and demonstrate its feasibility through analytical and numerical tools applied to a VCSEL model. We show phase bistability, spatial patterns, such as roll patterns, domain walls, and phase (dark-ring) solitons, which could be useful for optical information storage and processing purposes.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking as a resource for noncritically squeezed light

[EN] In the last years we have proposed the use of the mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking with the purpose of generating perfect quadrature squeezing. Here we review previous work dealing with spatial (translational and rotational) symmetries, both on optical parametric oscillators and four-wave mixing cavities, as well as present new results. We then extend the phenomenon to the polarization state of the signal field, hence introducing spontaneous polarization symmetry breaking. Finally we propose a Jaynes-Cummings model in which the phenomenon can be investigated at the singlephoton-pair level in a non-dissipative case, with the purpose of understanding it from a most fundamental …

Physical interpretation of laser phase dynamics

The basic features characterizing the dynamical evolution of the phase of a detuned-laser field under an unstable regime are physically interpreted in terms of dispersive and dynamical effects. A general method for obtaining any attractor projection containing the phase information is established, which provides evidence for the heteroclinic character of the attractor in the presence of cavity detuning for any emission regime.

Bistable phase locking in a low fresnel number nondegenerate optical oscillator with injected signal

Degenerate four-wave mixing oscillators are phase-bistable cavities. In such systems, above the oscillation threshold, two equivalent states, of equal intensities but opposite phases are generated. This phase bistability extends over the whole range of stable emission, unlike the intensity bistability (in, e.g. a saturable absorber cavity) that exits in a limited range of injection. When the cavity Fresnel number is large different patches of the beam transverse section can have different phases and a pattern forms. Basic patterns here are phase fronts (or domain walls), which are 1D structures separating regions with opposite phase that manifest as dark lines (as the phase jumps by p acros…

Floquet theory for temporal correlations and spectra in time-periodic open quantum systems: Application to squeezed parametric oscillation beyond the rotating-wave approximation

Open quantum systems can display periodic dynamics at the classical level either due to external periodic modulations or to self-pulsing phenomena typically following a Hopf bifurcation. In both cases, the quantum fluctuations around classical solutions do not reach a quantum-statistical stationary state, which prevents adopting the simple and reliable methods used for stationary quantum systems. Here we put forward a general and efficient method to compute two-time correlations and corresponding spectral densities of time-periodic open quantum systems within the usual linearized (Gaussian) approximation for their dynamics. Using Floquet theory we show how the quantum Langevin equations for…

Deviation from Lorenz-type dynamics of an NH3 ring laser

Abstract We show that the differences of the intensity spiral dynamics of an optically pumped NH 3 ring laser from that of the Lorenz model are caused by counterpropagating emission and by three-level coherence effects. In particular we find that under appropriate conditions the differences disappear and the laser emits purely according to the Lorenz model.

Multiphase patterns in a degenerate nonlinear oscillator

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) oscillators are phase-bistable devices. In such systems, two equivalent states, of equal intensities but opposite phases can be generated. When the cavity Fresnel number is large, different regions of the beam transverse section can have different phases, leading to phase patterns like phase fronts (or domain walls), i.e. ID structures separating regions with opposite phase that manifest as dark lines (as the phase jumps by π across the wall), phase domains, and phase solitons, among others.

Multimode instability in ring fiber lasers

Addressing optical pixel bits in a slab of dense optical material via intrinsic optical bistability

It is well known that dense materials with local-field effects can show "intrinsic" optical bistability when they are directly irradiated by a light beam. This has been shown theoretically in a number of works and also experimentally in several cases, in gas media and also in doped solid-state materials where nonlinearities based on standard local-field effects can be reinforced with other ion interaction effects. Although from the point of view of applications nonlinearities stronger than those found so far would be desirable, the fact that no optical resonator is needed to achieve bistability makes these materials potentially interesting for applications in optical information storage and…

Transverse patterns in degenerate optical parametric oscillation and degenerate four-wave mixing.

Transverse pattern formation in both degenerate optical parametric oscillation and degenerate four-wave mixing is considered both theoretically and numerically. In the limit of small signal detuning both systems are shown to be described by the real Swift-Hohenberg equation. Contrarily, for small signal and large pump detunings the Swift-Hohenberg equation is modified differently in both systems, by the appearance of additional nonlinear terms, which signal the existence of nonlinear resonances that are theoretically studied through the derivation of the amplitude equation for the roll pattern in both systems. Numerical analysis supports the theoretical predictions. \textcopyright{} 1996 Th…

Ultrasonic cavity solitons

We report on a new type of localized structure, an ultrasonic cavity soliton, supported by large aspect-ratio acoustic resonators containing viscous media. These states of the acoustic and thermal fields are robust structures, existing whenever a spatially uniform solution and a periodic pattern coexist. Direct proof of their existence is given both through the numerical integration of the model and through the analysis and numerical integration of a generalized Swift-Hohenberg equation, derived from the microscopic equations under conditions close to nascent bistability. An analytical solution for the ultrasonic cavity soliton is given.

Generalization of the Lorenz-Haken model to atomic systems with different relaxation rates for the two laser levels

Abstract The fundamental Lorenz-Haken laser model is generalized to the case of a two-level amplifying medium with different external relaxation rates for the two levels and with internal relaxation. This represents one further degree of freedom, and important quantitative differences in the laser dynamics. i.e., in the stationary solutions, linear stability analysis, and timedependent solutions, are found. No significant qualitative differences, however, are observed.

Experimental demonstration of phase bistability in a broad-area optical oscillator with injected signal

We demonstrate experimentally that a broad-area laserlike optical oscillator (a nondegenerate photorefractive oscillator) with structured injected signal displays two-phase patterns. The technique [de Valc\'arcel and Staliunas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 054101 (2010)] consists in spatially modulating the injection, so that its phase alternates periodically between two opposite values, i.e., differing by $\ensuremath{\pi}$.

Polarization phenomena in a laser coherently pumped by a linearly polarized field

The field intensity and polarization behaviour of an optically pumped laser is investigated in different operating conditions. For a linearly polarized pump field, a strong gain anisotropy is induced which favours generation of light with a polarization parallel to that of the pump field. Thus gain anisotropy can be counterbalanced by cavity-loss anisotropy only at low pumping field intensities, and the interplay between both types of anisotropy leads to polarization switching phenomena. In contrast to the case of the incoherently pumped laser, the decay rate for the magnetic dipole induced on the J = 1 level plays a minor role in determining the polarization dynamics. The influence of a lo…

Reduced dynamical equations for solid-state lasers and VCSELs

It is the aim of this presentation to show that a reduction in the number of coupled equations is feasible for spatio-temporal laser models with generic values of the pump and other parameters. Reduced equations have been derived via the application of two separate, yet equivalent, methods: one based on the CM and the other on operational calculus. The long term dynamics of the reduced models for solid-state lasers and VCSELs have been compared with that of the full systems by using both mathematical methods. Extensive numerical simulations for the complex dynamics of these and other laser models become suddenly feasible within reasonable computational time.

A Theoretical Approach to the Risken-Nummedal Instability in Erbium-Doped Fibre Lasers

Multidimensional quantum walks: Diabolical points, optical wave-like propagation, and multipartite entanglement

Quantum walks (QWs) are important for quantum information science, but are becoming also interesting for other fields of research as this simple quantum diffusion model finds analogues in diverse physical systems, optical ones in particular. The experimental capabilities regarding QWs have remarkably increased along recent years and several aspects of QWs are now open to experimental research, multidimensional QWs in particular [1].

One- and two-photon lasers with injected signal in a high-Q fabry-Pérot cavity

Explicit models are derived for good cavity one- and two-photon lasers with an injected signal in a Fabry-Perot cavity. The steady solutions and their stability properties are obtained analytically and compared with the corresponding ring cavity model ones. Only quantitative differences between both types of cavities are found. In particular we show that (i) the Fabry-Perot cavity reduces significantly the domain of self-pulsing with respect to the ring cavity, and for the two-photon laser case (ii) larger output can be extracted from a Fabry-Perot cavity than from a ring cavity under certain conditions, something impossible in free-running lasers. We conclude that ring cavity models are se…

Experimental demonstration of bistable phase locking in a photorefractive oscillator

We report experimental evidence of bistable phase locking in nonlinear optics, in particular, in a photorefractive oscillator emitting in few transverse modes. Bistable phase locking is a recently proposed method for converting a laserlike system, which is phase invariant, into a phase-bistable one by injecting a suitable spatially modulated monochromatic beam, resonant with the laser emission, into the optical cavity. We experimentally demonstrate that the emission on the fundamental TEM00 mode becomes phase bistable by injection of a beam with the shape of the TEM10 mode with appropriate frequency, in accordance with recent theoretical predictions [K. Staliunas et al., Phys. Rev. A 80, 02…

Two-photon laser dynamics.

Degenerate as well as nondegenerate three-level two-photon laser (TPL) models are derived. In the limit of equal cavity losses for both fields, it is shown that the nondegenerate model reduces to the degenerate one. We also demonstrate the isomorphism existing between our degenerate TPL model and that of a dressed-state TPL. All these models contain ac-Stark and population-induced shifts at difference from effective Hamiltonian models. The influence of the parameters that control these shifts on the nonlinear dynamics of a TPL is investigated. In particular, the stability of the periodic orbits that arise at the Hopf bifurcation of the system and the extension of the self-pulsing domains of…

Bistable phase locking in rocked lasers

Abstract We investigate analytically and numerically the dynamics of single mode lasers with periodic ac injection (rocked lasers). Such lasers show phase bistability as the phase of the light emitted by such lasers can lock to either of two values shifted by π. Locking regimes for different lasers are studied showing that the system response is strongly modified in class B lasers due to the influence of relaxation oscillations.

Multi-longitudinal mode emission in a bidirectional laser model

Multi-longitudinal mode emission is a fundamental issue in laser physics. Interestingly enough, the mechanisms responsible for the transition from single- to multi-longitudinal mode emission have not been completely clarified yet. For example, it is well known that in unidirectional ring lasers the Rabi splitting of the lasing transition can lead to multimode emission even in a homogeneously broadened medium, the so called Risken-Nummedal—Graham-Haken instability (RNGHI) [1]. In spite of being known since the late sixties, only in the recent years a couple of experiments have demonstrated “dressed” versions of the RNGHI [2], i.e., up to day there are not clear demonstrations of this basic m…

Operation conditions and stability of a degenerate two-photon laser

Abstract The presence of a far off-resonant intermediate level in a degenerate three-level two-photon laser model manifests through a steady pump-dependent and a dynamic frequency shift on the laser equations. The steady shift strongly affects the pump threshold necessary for emission, preventing it in certain cases. The dynamic shift makes the frequency pulling/pushing to be intensity-dependent and substantially modify the domains of existence and stability of the lasing solution permitting stable operation for large cavity losses in certain cases.

Multimode squeezing of frequency combs

We have developed a full multimode theory of a synchronously pumped type-I optical parametric oscillator. We calculate the output quantum fluctuations of the device and find that, in the degenerate case (coincident signal and idler set of frequencies), significant squeezing is obtained when one approaches threshold from below for a set of well-defined ``supermodes,'' or frequency combs, consisting of a coherent linear superposition of signal modes of different frequencies which are resonant in the cavity.

A Coherent Master Equation for active mode locking in lasers

We present the derivation of a new master equation for active mode locking in lasers that fully takes into account the coherent effects of the light matter interaction through a peculiar adiabatic elimination technique. The coherent effects included in our model could be relevant to describe properly mode-locked semiconductor lasers where the standard Haus’ Master Equation predictions show some discrepancy with respect to the experimental results and can be included in the modelling of other mode locking techniques too.