Nonlinear lossy light bullets in self-focusing media with nonlinear absorption

TL;DR

This paper reviews the properties of nonlinear, multidimensional localized light waves called lossy light bullets, which maintain their shape through a balance of self-focusing and nonlinear absorption, and identifies a most stable, attractor-like variant.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a preferential lossy light bullet as the most stable localized wave supported by self-focusing media with nonlinear losses, explaining filament dynamics.

Findings

Existence of a stable, preferential lossy light bullet.

Lossy light bullets can rebuild after obstacles.

Self-focusing collapse is halted by nonlinear absorption.

Abstract

We review the properties of nonlinear, multidimensional localized waves whose stationary propagation is sustained by a dynamic equilibrium between self-focusing and nonlinear losses. Their finite-energy versions preserve light bullet behavior well-beyond the characteristic diffraction or dispersion distances, and rebuild after obstacles. There exists a preferential lossy light bullet with maximum intensity and losses, defined solely by the optical properties of the medium, which is the most stable, non-conical localized wave supported by a medium with self-focusing nonlinearity and nonlinear losses. This preferential lossy light bullet acts as an attractor during self-focusing of Gaussian-like wave packets when collapse is halted by nonlinear absorption, a fact that can explain relevant characteristics of the observed light filament dynamics in media with anomalous dispersion.