Noise-like Emission Research Articles

Comprehensive study of the transitions between stable mode-locking and soliton explosions in a fiber laser mode-locked with a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror

We present a comprehensive study on the dynamics of transitions between stable mode-locking and instabilities with soliton explosions or noise-like emissions depending on all of the effective parameters of the fiber laser cavity mode-locked by a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror (NALM). By numerically solving a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation, the spectral and temporal shapes of the pulses during the different roundtrips are calculated and the event of soliton explosions is investigated by tuning the characteristics of components of the cavity, such as those in the main loop, including filter bandwidth, length of passive fiber, rate of output coupling, and pump power, and also the components of the NALM, such as pump power, passive fiber length, and the coupling rate of this loop to the main loop. The results indicate how one can convert an unstable state with the soliton explosions to a long-term stable mode-locking state by tuning each parameter and adjusting the nonlinear phase difference of clockwise and counterclockwise waves in the NALM.

Observation of soliton explosions in a passively mode-locked fiber laser

Soliton explosions are among the most exotic dissipative phenomena studied in mode-locked lasers. In this regime, a dissipative soliton circulating in the laser cavity experiences an abrupt structural collapse, but within a few roundtrips returns to its original quasi-stable state. In this Letter, we report on the first observation, to the best of our knowledge, of such events in a fiber laser. Specifically, we identify clear explosion signatures in measurements of shot-to-shot spectra of a Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser that is operating in a transition regime between stable and noise-like emission. The comparatively long, all-normal-dispersion cavity used in our experiments also permits direct time-domain measurements, and we show that the explosions manifest themselves as abrupt temporal shifts in the output pulse train. Our experimental results are in good agreement with realistic numerical simulations based on an iterative cavity map.

Optical turbulence in fiber lasers

We analyze the nonlinear stage of modulation instability in passively mode-locked fiber lasers leading to chaotic or noise-like emission. We present the phase-transition diagram among different regimes of chaotic emission in terms of the key cavity parameters: amplitude or phase turbulence, and spatio-temporal intermittency.

NOISE AND SIGNAL FOR SPECTRA OF INTERMITTENT NOISELIKE EMISSION

We show that intermittency of noiselike emission, after propagation through a scattering medium, affects the distribution of noise in the observed correlation function. Intermittency also affects correlation of noise among channels of the spectrum, but leaves the average spectrum, average correlation function, and distribution of noise among channels of the spectrum unchanged. Pulsars are examples of such sources: intermittent and affected by interstellar propagation. We assume that the source emits Gaussian white noise, modulated by a time-envelope. Propagation convolves the resulting time series with an impulse-response function that represents effects of dispersion, scattering, and absorption. We assume that this propagation kernel is shorter than the time for an observer to accumulate a single spectrum. We show that rapidly-varying intermittent emission tends to concentrate noise near the central lag of the correlation function. We derive mathematical expressions for this effect, in terms of the time envelope and the propagation kernel. We present examples, discuss effects of background noise, and compare our results with observations.

Efficiency of electron acceleration in the Earth’s magnetosphere by whistler mode waves

The efficiency of energetic electron cyclotron acceleration in the Earth’s magnetosphere in different regimes of electron resonant interaction with parallel propagating whistler mode waves of variable frequency, specifically, with chorus ELF-VLF emissions, is considered. The regime of stochastic acceleration, typical of the interaction between particles and noise-like emissions, and particle acceleration in the regime of nonlinear trapping by a quasimonochromatic wave field are discussed. The specific feature of the latter regime consists in its non-diffuse character, i.e., the definite sign of the energy variation depending on the frequency variation in the wave packet. The trapped electron energy becomes higher if frequency increases within an element, which is typical of chorus emissions. For the parameters typical of chorus emissions (the amplitude of a wave magnetic field B ∼ = 102 nT, the initial frequency ω ∼ 0.3ω H , and the frequency variation &Dω ∼ 0.15ω H , where ω H is the electron gyrofrequency), the energy increase during one act of such an interaction at L = 4−5 exceeds the rms variation in the energy of untrapped electron (during stochastic acceleration) by one-two orders of magnitude. The estimates indicate that a considerable fraction (several tens of percent) of the chorus element energy can be absorbed by electrons accelerated in the trapping regime during a single hop.

Whistler–electron interactions in the magnetosphere: new results and novel approaches

Attention is focused here on the quasilinear and nonlinear physics of cyclotron interactions between magnetospheric whistler mode waves and energetic electrons on dipolar geomagnetic flux tubes. These interactions can lead to the generation of noise-like emissions or phase-coherent discrete signals in the frequency-time domain. In the magnetosphere noise-like emissions called hiss are accompanied by a smooth electron precipitation pattern. Examples of discrete emissions are ELF/VLF chorus or VLF emissions triggered by whistlers from lightning or by radio transmitters on the ground. The rapid temporal variations of these signals are associated with fine structure of the distribution function of the radiation belt electrons, such as a transient step-like deformation or a well-organized beam, which are prepared by initial noise-like emissions or by a quasimonochromatic whistler–wave packet, respectively. These cause the properties of the electrons, which may be observed on a satellite, to evolve rapidly in time and on relatively short spatial scales. Bursts of precipitating electrons occur, and can contribute significantly to depleting the radiation belts. Recent results on improvements in the theoretical understanding of such processes and on new observations of magnetospheric electrons and whistler-mode waves are presented.