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Published on: November 30, 2012
Optical ratchets with discrete cavity solitons
Andrey V Gorbach1, Sergey Denisov, Sergej Flach
1Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Nöthnitzer Strasse, Germany. A.Gorbach@bath.ac.uk
Optics Letters
|May 12, 2006
Summary
We demonstrate a method to observe soliton ratchet effects in coupled waveguide optical resonators. Soliton motion is controlled by shaking the holding beam, allowing for tunable velocity.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear optics
- Condensed matter physics
- Photonics
Background:
- Discrete cavity solitons are localized light structures in coupled optical resonator arrays.
- Soliton ratchet effects describe directed motion induced by asymmetric potentials or driving forces.
- Observing these effects in engineered optical systems offers insights into fundamental physics and potential applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and theoretically describe a novel experimental setup for observing soliton ratchet effects.
- To investigate the generation and control of net motion for discrete cavity solitons.
- To explore the influence of holding beam parameters on soliton dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a 1D array of coupled waveguide optical resonators.
- Employing discrete cavity solitons as the observed entities.
- Implementing an adiabatic shaking protocol for the holding beam with zero average inclination.
- Analyzing the resulting soliton velocity as a function of beam parameters.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that adiabatic shaking of the holding beam can induce net motion of solitons.
- Showed that the soliton velocity is controllable by adjusting parameters of the holding beam.
- Established a direct link between driving protocol and directed soliton transport.
Conclusions:
- The proposed setup provides a viable platform for observing soliton ratchet effects.
- This work offers a method for controlled manipulation of light localization and transport in photonic arrays.
- The findings have implications for designing novel optical devices and understanding nonlinear transport phenomena.
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