An accurate envelope equation for light propagation in photonic nanowires: new nonlinear effects

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new accurate envelope equation for light in photonic nanowires, accounting for vector fields and modal variations, revealing novel nonlinear effects that impact soliton dynamics.

Contribution

It presents a novel unidirectional evolution equation that incorporates vector nature and modal profile variations, uncovering new nonlinear effects in photonic nanowires.

Findings

Discovery of new nonlinear effects affecting soliton propagation

Validation through detailed numerical simulations

Enhanced understanding of light behavior in silica nanowires

Abstract

We derive a new unidirectional evolution equation for photonic nanowires made of silica. Contrary to previous approaches, our formulation simultaneously takes into account both the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and the full variations of the effective modal profiles with wavelength. This leads to the discovery of new, previously unexplored nonlinear effects which have the potential to affect soliton propagation considerably. We specialize our theoretical considerations to the case of perfectly circular silica strands in air, and we support our analysis with detailed numerical simulations.