Optical Kerr spatiotemporal dark extreme waves

TL;DR

This paper investigates multidimensional dark optical waves in Kerr media, analytically and numerically demonstrating their properties and linking them to hydrodynamic equations, opening new avenues for controlling optical rogue waves.

Contribution

It establishes a novel connection between (2+1)D nonlinear Schrödinger and Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations for dark wave solutions.

Findings

Analytical and numerical confirmation of dark wave solutions.

Identification of dark lines, X waves, and lumps as holes of light.

Linking optical waves to hydrodynamic equations.

Abstract

We study the existence and propagation of multidimensional dark non-diffractive and non-dispersive spatiotemporal optical wave-packets in nonlinear Kerr media. We report analytically and confirm numerically the properties of spatiotemporal dark lines, X solitary waves and lump solutions of the (2 + 1)D nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE). Dark lines, X waves and lumps represent holes of light on a continuous wave background. These solitary waves are derived by exploiting the connection between the (2 + 1)D NLSE and a well-known equation of hydrodynamics, namely the (2+1)D Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equation. This finding opens a novel path for the excitation and control of spatiotemporal optical solitary and rogue waves, of hydrodynamic nature.