Berlin 2005 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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DY: Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 11: Nonlinear Dynamics

DY 11.1: Vortrag

Freitag, 4. März 2005, 10:30–10:45, TU H2032

Dissipative optical solitons in the presence of a symmetry-breaking pitchfork bifurcation — •Matthias Pesch, Jens-Uwe Schurek, Thorsten Ackemann, and Wulfhard Lange — Institut für Angewandte Physik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstr. 2/4, 48149 Münster

In this report, we consider the mechanisms leading to the stabilization of dissipative optical spatial solitons, which are observed in a specific realization of a single-mirror feedback experiment using sodium vapor as the nonlinear medium. This system exhibits a symmetry breaking pitchfork bifurcation leading to (nearly) equivalent homogeneous or patterned states with different polarization. By means of an addressing beam a circular domain of one polarization state existing on a background of the other can be ignited. We observe a curvature-driven shrinkage of the domain that can be counteracted by disturbing the pitchfork bifurcation. A family of spatial solitons can be stabilized if an operation point close to or above the threshold of a modulational instability is chosen. We observe clusters of different solitons, tightly bound compound states of solitons and solitons interacting with fronts.