About this Research Topic
Transient phenomena and dynamics are important characteristics of numerous nonlinear systems. Solitons are localized formations in nonlinear systems, appearing in many nonlinear processes from fluid and biology dynamics, to plasma physics, to fiber lasers, especially in mode-locked lasers. The mode-locked fiber laser is an ideal platform to explore new nonlinear phenomena due to its compact and low-cost configuration, as well as its excellent features of high stability and low noise. Solitons observed in mode-locked lasers exhibit several special behaviors, such as soliton bunching and soliton bounding (i.e. the generation of soliton molecules).
In the stationary state, the soliton train generated from mode-locked lasers can be described theoretically by means of the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NSE), or Ginzburg–Landau equation (GLE). Despite the ultimate stability of the mode-locked pulse train, its initial self-starting process contains a rich variety of unstable phenomena, which are highly stochastic and non-repetitive, and the theoretical modeling of these dynamical processes is beyond the NSE and GLE. While conventional technologies couldn’t generally measure these rapid non-repetitive processes due to the limited measurement bandwidth, the recently-developed time-stretch technique can provide an elegant way for real-time, single-shot measurements of ultrafast optical phenomena. This technique helps scientists to experimentally resolve the evolution of femtosecond soliton molecules, the internal motion of dissipative optical soliton molecules, and the dynamics of soliton explosions. Some successful examples of using this time stretch technique include the measurements of rogue wave dynamics, modulation instability, and supercontinuum generation.
This Research Topic aims at displaying state-of-the-art soliton dynamics in mode-locked fiber lasers and contributions will focus on the nonlinear dynamics of generation and propagation of fiber lasers. Advanced topics on buildup of solitons in fiber lasers are of particular interest for this Research Topic.
This Research Topic will therefore cover, but is not restricted to, the following areas:
- the physics of fiber lasers
- buildup dynamics of pluses in mode-locked fiber lasers
- unstable phenomena of fiber lasers
- reveal time measurement techniques for fiber lasers
In the stationary state, the soliton train generated from mode-locked lasers can be described theoretically by means of the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NSE), or Ginzburg–Landau equation (GLE). Despite the ultimate stability of the mode-locked pulse train, its initial self-starting process contains a rich variety of unstable phenomena, which are highly stochastic and non-repetitive, and the theoretical modeling of these dynamical processes is beyond the NSE and GLE. While conventional technologies couldn’t generally measure these rapid non-repetitive processes due to the limited measurement bandwidth, the recently-developed time-stretch technique can provide an elegant way for real-time, single-shot measurements of ultrafast optical phenomena. This technique helps scientists to experimentally resolve the evolution of femtosecond soliton molecules, the internal motion of dissipative optical soliton molecules, and the dynamics of soliton explosions. Some successful examples of using this time stretch technique include the measurements of rogue wave dynamics, modulation instability, and supercontinuum generation.
This Research Topic aims at displaying state-of-the-art soliton dynamics in mode-locked fiber lasers and contributions will focus on the nonlinear dynamics of generation and propagation of fiber lasers. Advanced topics on buildup of solitons in fiber lasers are of particular interest for this Research Topic.
This Research Topic will therefore cover, but is not restricted to, the following areas:
- the physics of fiber lasers
- buildup dynamics of pluses in mode-locked fiber lasers
- unstable phenomena of fiber lasers
- reveal time measurement techniques for fiber lasers
Keywords: fiber laser, soliton, mode-locking, self-starting process, real-time spectroscopy
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