Synchronization of the internal dynamics of optical soliton molecules

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how the internal vibrations of optical soliton molecules can be synchronized using modulated optical injection, enabling control over their nonlinear vibrational frequencies and patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a method to synchronize soliton molecule vibrations via optical injection, supported by experiments and numerical simulations, revealing complex synchronization patterns.

Findings

Successful synchronization of soliton vibrations at various harmonic levels

Formation of Arnold tongue patterns with respect to injection strength

Experimental results align with numerical simulations

Abstract

Optical soliton molecules in ultrafast lasers present striking analogies with their matter molecule counterparts, such as internal vibrations. However, the vibrations of soliton molecules are nonlinear, with frequencies that are sensitive to the system parameters, thus presenting an opportunity of control. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the synchronization of the internal vibrations of self-excited vibrating soliton molecules through a modulated optical injection. We show efficient sub-harmonic, fundamental and super-harmonic synchronization, forming a pattern of Arnold tongues with respect to the injection strength. Our observations are supported by numerical simulations.