Multimode dynamics in bidirectional laser cavities by folding space into time delay

Area of Science:

• Laser Physics
• Nonlinear Dynamics
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Multimode dynamics in bidirectional laser cavities present significant computational challenges.
• Existing models often struggle to capture the full complexity of all cavity modes simultaneously.
• Accurate analysis is crucial for understanding and controlling laser behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient method for describing multimode dynamics in bidirectional laser cavities.
• To reduce the computational complexity of laser cavity simulations.
• To enable advanced analyses like linear stability and bifurcation studies.

Main Methods:

• A novel approach of folding space into time delay was employed.
• This transforms the system into a set of delayed algebraic equations.
• This method preserves all cavity mode dynamics while reducing degrees of freedom.

Main Results:

• The proposed method accurately describes multimode dynamics.
• A drastic reduction in the number of degrees of freedom was achieved.
• Integration times were reduced by orders of magnitude compared to traditional methods.

Conclusions:

• The space-folding into time-delay technique offers a powerful and efficient tool for analyzing bidirectional laser cavities.
• This simplification facilitates linear stability analysis and bifurcation diagram reconstruction.
• The reduced computational cost opens new possibilities for complex laser system research.