Hopping and emergent dynamics of optical localized states in a trapping potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates how localized light states in propagative geometries can be controlled and how their interactions lead to complex collective behaviors, combining theoretical and experimental insights.

Contribution

It introduces a phase locking framework for localized light states and explores the impact of non-reciprocal interactions on their dynamics.

Findings

Localized states can be controlled via parameter modulation.

Non-reciprocal interactions induce convective defect motion.

Emergence of collective unlocking phenomena.

Abstract

The position and motion of localized states of light in propagative geometries can be controlled via an adequate parameter modulation. Here, we show theoretically and experimentally that this process can be accurately described as the phase locking of oscillators to an external forcing and that non-reciprocal interactions between light bits can drastically modify this picture. Interactions lead to the convective motion of defects and to unlocking as a collective emerging phenomenon.