Non-Markovian Stochastic Resonance of Light in a Microcavity

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates non-Markovian stochastic resonance in an oil-filled microcavity, showing noise-enhanced signal amplification due to memory effects, with potential applications in nonlinear optical systems.

Contribution

First experimental observation of non-Markovian stochastic resonance in an optical microcavity with memory effects, supported by numerical simulations.

Findings

Peak in signal-to-noise ratio as a function of noise variance

Enlarged stochastic resonance bandwidth due to memory time

Noise-assisted amplification over a frequency range 10^8 times larger than Kerr cavities

Abstract

We report the first observation of non-Markovian stochastic resonance, i.e., noise-assisted amplification of a periodic signal in a system with memory. Our system is an oil-filled optical microcavity which, driven by a continuous wave laser, has memory in its nonlinear optical response. By modulating the cavity length while adding noise to the driving laser, we observe a peak in the transmitted signal-to-noise ratio as a function of the noise variance. Our experimental observations are reproduced by numerical simulations, which further reveal that the stochastic resonance bandwidth is enlarged by the memory time of the nonlinearity. This frequency range available for noise-assisted amplification is $10^8$ times greater in our oil-filled cavity than in a Kerr nonlinear cavity. Our results pave the way for exploring the interplay of nonlinearity, noise, and memory, in oil-filled cavity arrays, where non-Markovian dynamics could enhance noise-assisted transport and synchronization effects.