Soliton percolation in random optical lattices

TL;DR

This paper explores how disorder in optical lattices affects the transport of light packets, revealing a disorder-induced transition between insulator and conductor regimes with optimal soliton current at intermediate disorder levels.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of soliton percolation in random optical lattices and identifies a disorder-induced transition affecting light transport.

Findings

Maximal soliton current at intermediate disorder levels

Transition between insulator and conductor regimes due to disorder

Soliton transport is suppressed in both highly regular and highly disordered lattices

Abstract

We introduce soliton percolation phenomena in the nonlinear transport of light packets in suitable optical lattices with random properties. Specifically, we address lattices with a gradient of the refractive index in the transverse plane, featuring stochastic phase or amplitude fluctuations, and we discover the existence of a disorder-induced transition between soliton-insu-lator and soliton-conductor regimes. The soliton current is found to reach its maximal value at intermediate disorder levels and to drastically decrease in both, almost regular and strongly disordered lattices.