Dirac solitons in optical microresonators

Abstract

Mode-coupling-induced dispersion has been used to engineer microresonators for soliton generation at the edge of the visible band. Here, we show that the optical soliton formed in this way is analogous to optical Bragg solitons and, more generally, to the Dirac soliton in quantum field theory. This optical Dirac soliton is studied theoretically, and a closed-form solution is derived in the corresponding conservative system. Both analytical and numerical solutions show unusual properties, such as polarization twisting and asymmetrical optical spectra. The closed-form solution is also used to study the repetition rate shift in the soliton. An observation of the asymmetrical spectrum is analysed using theory. The properties of Dirac optical solitons in microresonators are important at a fundamental level and provide a road map for soliton microcomb generation in the visible band.