Observations of spatiotemporal instabilities in the strong-driving regime of an AC-driven nonlinear Schr\"odinger system

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates the instabilities of localized dissipative structures in an optical fiber resonator, confirming theoretical predictions and revealing complex chaotic behaviors in the strong-driving regime of the nonlinear Schrödinger system.

Contribution

First experimental observation of predicted LDS instabilities and chaos in a driven optical fiber system, validating theoretical models of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Findings

Observed instability modes including oscillations and chaos

Identified a phase transition-like behavior with chaos domains

Confirmed theoretical predictions of LDS instabilities

Abstract

Localized dissipative structures (LDS) have been predicted to display a rich array of instabilities, yet systematic experimental studies have remained scarce. We have used a synchronously-driven optical fiber ring resonator to experimentally study LDS instabilities in the strong-driving regime of the AC-driven nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (also known as the Lugiato-Lefever model). Through continuous variation of a single control parameter, we have observed a string of theoretically predicted instability modes, including irregular oscillations and chaotic collapses. Beyond a critical point, we observe behaviour reminiscent of a phase transition: LDSs trigger localized domains of spatiotemporal chaos that invade the surrounding homogeneous state. Our findings directly confirm a number of theoretical predictions, and they highlight that complex LDS instabilities can play a role in experimental systems.