Dissipative solitons exhibit ability to split without losing amplitude in models
Dissipative solitons exhibit ability to split without losing amplitude in models lead image
Some communication technologies rely on the propagation of waves made up of classical solitons — short, localized bursts of wave action that conserve energy. However, this approach leads to a signal’s strength diminishing each time the signal is split. Theoretical physicists modeled a technique, reported in Chaos, that taps into the unique nonlinear properties of non-classical dissipative solitons in optical applications, allowing them to be split without needing additional amplification.
Dissipative solitons arise in nonlinear, magnetic field threaded magneto-optical waveguides when a propagating waveform achieves a balance between gaining and losing energy. A one-dimensional equation known as the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation provides researchers with a way to model the behavior of these solitons when faced with external forces.
In a simulation, a spatially inhomogeneous external magnetic field applied to the physical system disrupted the solitons’ energy balance, induced transitions in their waveform and replicated the signal into three separate signals — a simultaneous splitting and amplification of the original signal.
Numerical analysis revealed that changing the profile of the force on this system allowed transitions to be performed in a controllable way. Irregular transitions were much less stable and more sensitive to changes in the waveform profile than regular transitions.
Because the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation used for the simulations is used to describe a wide variety of nonlinear phenomena, the findings may have broad applications across many fields within physics, including optics, semiconductors and reaction-diffusion systems. The authors hope the demonstration of this effect will stoke interest in observing this phenomenon experimentally.
Source: “Induced waveform transitions of dissipative solitons,” by Bogdan A. Kochetov and Vladimir R. Tuz, Chaos (2018). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5016914 .
