• Open Access

Collision of Akhmediev Breathers in Nonlinear Fiber Optics

B. Frisquet, B. Kibler, and G. Millot
Phys. Rev. X 3, 041032 – Published 19 December 2013

Abstract

We report here a novel fiber-based test bed using tailored spectral shaping of an optical-frequency comb to excite the formation of two Akhmediev breathers that collide during propagation. We have found specific initial conditions by controlling the phase and velocity differences between breathers that lead, with certainty, to their efficient collision and the appearance of a giant-amplitude wave. Temporal and spectral characteristics of the collision dynamics are in agreement with the corresponding analytical solution. We anticipate that experimental evidence of breather-collision dynamics is of fundamental importance in the understanding of extreme ocean waves and in other disciplines driven by the continuous nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
1 More
  • Received 1 July 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.3.041032

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

B. Frisquet, B. Kibler*, and G. Millot

  • Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne (ICB), UMR 6303 CNRS-Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France

  • *Corresponding author. bertrand.kibler@u-bourgogne.fr

Popular Summary

Propagating waves, as we commonly observe, tend to lose their shape and strength quickly. But, some waves, called solitons, are able to maintain their original shapes over large distances of propagation. Solitons appear in a wide range of fields or systems, fiber optics, deep-water waves, plasma waves, and even in condensates of quantum particles, but they share many common fundamental origins and properties. Recently, nonlinear fiber optics has revealed the existence of “breathers,” a new form of solitons with periodic oscillations on a finite background. But, how do such breathers, when they appear at the same time, interact with each other, as in the case of isolated “rogue waves” on the sea? Until now, no experiment has been performed to answer this question. In this paper, we report a new experiment based on nonlinear fiber optics, where two breathers are intentionally excited and are seen to generate a giant new and localized wave through their collision.

Indeed, with our experiments, we have gone beyond mere observation of the breather collision. We have understood that, for efficient collision between two breathers and for a new rogue wave to emerge from the collision, the local maxima of the breathers must coincide both in space and in time. We have achieved this condition through tailored shaping of the initial waves and careful control of their propagation. The technical precision we have in describing the high-quality optical pulses involved in the experiment has allowed us to compare and interpret the collision-generated wave shape with the theoretical description of the collision given by a universal model of nonlinear wave phenomena, the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Our work thus confirms that the collision of breathers can be an alternative route to the generation of giant rogue waves. As a first experimental proof of the control of the interaction between complex waves, it shows the potential of systems of nonlinear fiber optics as a test bed for fundamental theories of nonlinear wave dynamics in cross-disciplinary research.

Key Image

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 3, Iss. 4 — October - December 2013

Subject Areas
Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review X

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×