Beyond the Ikeda map: a nonlinear optical ring cavity excited with picosecond pulses

Abstract

Using a single-mode glass fiber as a dispersive nonlinear medium, we observed hysteresis, period doubling and chaotic behavior of 10 ps laser pulses in a ring cavity. Some special timing logic allowed us to control all relevant parameters, and so for the first time the nonlinear dynamics were studied quantitatively. The general features were in agreement with predictions obtained from the Ikeda map, but quantitative agreement could only be obtained by extending the theory with the influence of group velocity dispersion and pulse shape. No adjustable parameters were used in the theory.