Extreme events in frequency-swept semiconductor lasers

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Nonlinear Dynamics
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Semiconductor lasers are crucial in modern optics.
• Understanding their dynamic behavior, especially under frequency sweeping, is essential for advanced applications.
• Extreme events in complex systems can lead to unpredictable behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze a delay differential equation model of a frequency-swept semiconductor laser.
• To demonstrate and characterize the occurrence of extreme events in the laser's dynamics.
• To investigate the influence of sweep rate and system noise on these extreme events.

Main Methods:

• Numerical analysis of a delay differential equation model.
• Investigation of intensity dynamics and localization in filter detuning space.
• Comparison with steady-state and periodic solutions of the static system.

Main Results:

• Existence of extreme events in the laser dynamics, heavily dependent on the sweep rate.
• Extreme events occur even in the absence of external noise.
• Intensity dynamics of extreme events are localized in filter detuning space.
• Dynamics are governed by attraction to stable high-intensity periodic solutions.

Conclusions:

• Extreme events in frequency-swept semiconductor lasers are a robust phenomenon, driven by the system's inherent dynamics.
• The sweep rate is a critical parameter controlling the probability of these events.
• These events arise from the system's trajectory through regions of stable periodic solutions.