Search results for "Kerr effect"
showing 10 items of 107 documents
Counter-propagating difference-frequency generation in diamond with terahertz fields
2013
The nonlinear interaction of terahertz (THz) pulses with optical fields in Kerr, gaseous media is a key ingredient for broadband THz detection schemes [1]. Terahertz field-induced second harmonic generation in solid-state media has also been considered for THz detection and as a tool e.g. for liquid dynamics investigations [2,3], while four-wave mixing has been addressed as a possible mechanism for THz generation [4,5]. © 2013 IEEE.
Vectorial Kerr-cavity solitons.
2000
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.
Optimized factor of merit of the magneto-optical Kerr effect of ferromagnetic thin films
2000
This paper deals with the optimization of the factor of merit of the magneto-optical Kerr effect of a resonant multilayer cavity including a ferromagnetic film. This optimization is of interest in the context of optical storage technology. Using numerical simulations based on the Green's dyadic technique, we discuss a route to obtain magneto-optical multilayers with a vanishing ellipticity and factors of merit (with respect to the bulk magnetic material) larger than 3 on a broad range of wavelengths, significantly higher than the actual state of the art.
Statistical characterization of the internal structure of noiselike pulses using a nonlinear optical loop mirror
2016
Abstract In this work we study statistically the internal structure of noiselike pulses generated by a passively mode-locked fiber laser. For this purpose, we use a technique that allows estimating the distribution of the amplitudes of the sub-pulses in the bunch. The technique takes advantage of the fast response of the optical Kerr effect in a fiber nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM). It requires the measurement of the energy transfer characteristic of the pulses through the NOLM, and the numerical resolution of a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. The results yield a strongly asymmetric distribution, with a high-amplitude tail that is compatible with the existence of extreme-inte…
Higher-order Kerr effect in ultrashort laser pulse propagation and laser filamentation
2011
We discuss the contribution of the higher-order Kerr effect (HOKE) to the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in several contexts. We show that their consideration is necessary to adequately reproduce experimental data about harmonics generation, propagation in hollow-core fibers, and laser filamentation. In the latter case, our results show that the HOKE play a key role for short pluses and/or long wavelengths, while the plasma contributes more for long pulses and/or short wavelengths.
Transition from plasma-driven to Kerr-driven laser filamentation.
2011
While filaments are generally interpreted as a dynamic balance between Kerr focusing and plasma defocusing, the role of the higher-order Kerr effect (HOKE) is actively debated as a potentially dominant defocusing contribution to filament stabilization. In a pump-probe experiment supported by numerical simulations, we demonstrate the transition between two distinct filamentation regimes at 800 nm. For long pulses (1.2 ps), the plasma substantially contributes to filamentation, while this contribution vanishes for short pulses (70 fs). These results confirm the occurrence, in adequate conditions, of filamentation driven by the HOKE rather than by plasma.
Excitation of rotons in parahydrogen crystals: The laser-induced-molecular-alignment mechanism
2013
Solid parahydrogen (p-H₂) is known to support long-lived coherences, of the order of 100 ps, which enables high-resolution spectroscopy in the time domain. Rotational Raman-type excitations to sublevels of J=2 are delocalized due to electric-quadrupole–quadrupole coupling in p-H₂ crystals, and the resulting states can be characterized as rotons. Wave packets of rotons exhibit molecular alignment with respect to laboratory coordinates. Here the concept of field-free molecular alignment, induced by strong ultrashort laser pulses, is extended into a molecular solid case. We derive a solid-state analog for the gas-phase alignment measure and illustrate the time-dependent alignment degree in p-H…
Solitons in Optical Fibers
1996
In the near future nonlinear optics should probably revolutionize the world of telecommunications and computer technologies. With lasers producing highintensity and short-duration optical pulses, it is now possible to probe the interesting, and potentially useful, nonlinear effects in optical systems and waveguides. Among the guiding structures, the optical fiber is an interesting (Gloge 1979) and important device (Mollenauer and Stolen 1982; Doran and Blow 1983). In an optical transmission system using linear pulses, the bit rate of transmission is limited by the dispersive character of the material, which causes the pulse to spread out an eventually overlap to such an extend that all the …
High-field quantum calculation reveals time-dependent negative Kerr contribution
2013
The exact quantum time-dependent optical response of hydrogen under strong field near infrared excitation is investigated and compared to the perturbative model widely used for describing the effective atomic polarization induced by intense laser fields. By solving the full 3D time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation, we exhibit a supplementary, quasi-instantaneous defocusing contribution missing in the weak-field model of polarization. We show that this effect is far from being negligible in particular when closures of ionization channels occur and stems from the interaction of electrons with their parent ions. It provides an interpretation to higher-order Kerr effect recently observed in v…
Analytical investigation of solitary waves in nonlinear Kerr medium
2004
Abstract We study analytically the solution of nonlinear equation which result from the propagation of electromagnetic waves within a nonlinear Kerr medium. The medium is characterized by a dielectric constant which varies periodically and depends on the local field intensity. As a first step, we detail the resolution of the nonlinear equations with a quadratic nonlinearity. After that, we apply the slowly varying envelope approximation to obtain a Sine–Gordon equation. In this kind of nonlinearity, a gap solitons occurs. Moreover we verify that the solutions of the nonlinear equation for all frequencies within the gap are solitons solutions. After that we study the conditions of apparition…