Quantum diffusion of pure-quartic solitons in a laser cavity

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics and laser physics
• Nonlinear optics and ultrafast phenomena

Background:

• Ultrashort pulses in mode-locked lasers undergo quantum motion, impacting pure-quartic solitons.
• Quantum-limited noise sets fundamental performance limits for soliton applications.
• Research on quantum diffusion and timing jitter in these solitons is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the quantum motion of pure-quartic solitons.
• To analyze the sources and characteristics of quantum noise affecting these solitons.
• To establish performance benchmarks for pure-quartic soliton applications.

Main Methods:

• Simulated quantum motion by injecting amplified spontaneous emission noise into the gain medium.
• Measured relative soliton positions.
• Analyzed noise using Allan variance and timing jitter power spectral density.

Main Results:

• Identified long-range interactions due to pulse tailing as a source of high-frequency noise.
• Demonstrated that high-frequency noise can be effectively filtered.
• Achieved quantum-limited noise levels below 1 femtosecond in the near-zero dispersion regime.

Conclusions:

• Provided insights into the noise levels and mechanisms affecting pure-quartic solitons.
• Validated simulation results against an analytical model, showing good agreement.
• The findings can be extended to more complex soliton systems and higher-order dispersion dynamics.