Modulational instability and generation of self-induced transparency solitons in resonant optical fibers

International audience; We consider continuous-wave propagation through a fiber doped with two-level resonant atoms, which is described by a system of nonlinear Schrodinger-Maxwell-Bloch (NLS-MB) equations. We identify the modulational instability (MI) conditions required for the generation of ultrashort pulses, in cases of both anomalous and normal GVD (group-velocity dispersion). It is shown that the self-induced transparency (SIT) induces non-conventional MI sidebands. The main result is a prediction of the existence of both bright and dark SIT solitons in the anomalous and normal GVD regimes.