Formation and annihilation of laser light pulse quanta in thermodynamic-like pathway

TL;DR

This paper investigates the formation and annihilation of laser pulse quanta in passively mode-locked lasers using a thermodynamic-like framework, revealing phase transitions and quantized pulse energies validated by experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel thermodynamic-like phase diagram for pulse dynamics in PML lasers, combining theoretical modeling with experimental validation.

Findings

Pulse creation and annihilation occur via cascaded first order phase transitions.

Pulses carry nearly constant quantum of energy.

Experimental results align with the thermodynamic model.

Abstract

We present a theoretical and experimental study of multiple pulse formation in passively mode-locked (PML) lasers. Following a statistical mechanics approach, the study yields a thermodynamic-like "phase diagram" with boundaries representing cascaded first order phase transitions. They correspond to abrupt creation or annihilation of pulses and a quantized RF power behavior, as system parameters (noise and/or pumping levels) are varied, in excellent accordance with the experiments. Remarkably, individual pulses carry an almost constant quantum of energy.