Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
08:48
Low-cost Custom Fabrication and Mode-locked Operation of an All-normal-dispersion Femtosecond Fiber Laser for Multiphoton Microscopy
Published on: November 22, 2019
Dissipative rogue waves generated by chaotic pulse bunching in a mode-locked laser
C Lecaplain1, Ph Grelu, J M Soto-Crespo
1Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne, U.M.R. 6303 C.N.R.S., Université de Bourgogne, 9 avenue A. Savary, BP 47870 Dijon Cedex 21078, France.
Physical Review Letters
|September 26, 2012
Summary
Extremely high optical intensity events were observed in a chaotic fiber laser. These rare events, driven by pulse interactions, follow a long-tailed probability distribution.
Area of Science:
- Nonlinear optics
- Laser physics
- Complex systems
Background:
- Mode-locked fiber lasers can exhibit complex dynamics, including multiple-pulse generation.
- Dissipative systems often display unique statistical properties and rare extreme events.
- Understanding pulse dynamics is crucial for laser stability and applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate rare, high-intensity optical events in a dissipative chaotic fiber laser.
- To characterize the probability distribution of these intensity fluctuations.
- To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of extreme event generation.
Main Methods:
- Experimental setup utilizing a mode-locked fiber laser operating in a strongly dissipative regime.
- Recording and statistical analysis of optical intensity fluctuations at the laser output.
- Investigation of the influence of cavity parameters on intensity distributions.
Main Results:
- Observed rare events of extremely high optical intensity.
- The probability distribution of intensity fluctuations exhibits a long-tailed characteristic.
- These fluctuations are linked to the dynamics of a temporally localized multisoliton phase.
Conclusions:
- Chaotic fiber lasers in a dissipative regime can generate extreme optical intensity events.
- The observed long-tailed distribution is a signature of complex pulse interactions and motion.
- Cavity parameters critically influence the statistics of these rare events.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Standing Waves in a Cavity
A household microwave and lasers are examples of standing electromagnetic waves in a cavity. When two conducting metal plates are placed parallel at the nodal planes, it creates a cavity where standing waves are formed. The cavity between the two planes is analogous to a stretched string held at the points x = 0 and x = L. Here, the distance 'L' between the two planes must be an integer multiple of half of the wavelength. The wavelengths that satisfy this condition are given by:
02:18Interference and Diffraction
Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
01:30Oscillations In An LC Circuit
An idealized LC circuit of zero resistance can oscillate without any source of emf by shifting the energy stored in the circuit between the electric and magnetic fields. In such an LC circuit, if the capacitor contains a charge q before the switch is closed, then all the energy of the circuit is initially stored in the electric field of the capacitor. This energy is given by
01:07Propagation of Waves
When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
01:03Modes of Standing Waves - I
A close look at earthquakes provides evidence for the conditions appropriate for resonance, standing waves, and constructive and destructive interference. A building may vibrate for several seconds with a driving frequency matching the building's natural frequency of vibration; this produces a resonance that results in one building collapsing while the neighboring buildings do not. Often, buildings of a certain height are devastated, while other taller buildings remain intact. This phenomenon...
02:32The de Broglie Wavelength
In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...