Dark solitons in laser radiation build-up dynamics

TL;DR

This paper discovers slowly-decaying dark solitons in the radiation build-up of mode-locked fiber lasers, highlighting their dynamics, interactions, and the influence of dissipation in nonlinear optical systems.

Contribution

It reveals the existence and behavior of dark solitons in laser build-up dynamics, incorporating dissipation effects and extending understanding to other nonlinear systems.

Findings

Dark solitons can persist longer due to a restoring force.

Soliton-soliton collisions influence decay rates.

Background shape affects soliton stability.

Abstract

We reveal the existence of slowly-decaying dark solitons in the radiation build-up dynamics of bright pulses in all-normal dispersion mode-locked fiber lasers, numerically modeled in the framework of a generalized nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. The evolution of noise perturbations to quasi-stationary dark solitons is examined, and the significance of background shape and soliton-soliton collisions on the eventual soliton decay is established. We demonstrate the role of a restoring force in extending soliton interactions in conservative systems to include the effects of dissipation, as encountered in laser cavities, and generalize our observations to other nonlinear systems.