Driven modulation instability and new class of solitons of incoherent light

Abstract

We present experimental results on induced (driven) modulation instability and associated pattern formation of partially spatially incoherent light. Incoherent modulation instability (MI) is driven by seeding noise through cross-phase-modulation rather than intrinsic noise in a noninstantaneous nonlinear medium. We show that a threshold exists for such driven incoherent MI to occur, which depends on the degree of spatial coherence as well as the strength of the nonlinearity. Above the threshold, the MI leads to formation of ordered and disordered patterns of incoherent light. New class of solitons of incoherent light observed by suppressing incoherent MI will also be reported.