Spontaneously Sliding Multipole Spin Density Waves in Cold Atoms.

We report on the observation of spontaneously drifting coupled spin and quadrupolar density waves in the ground state of laser driven Rubidium atoms. These laser-cooled atomic ensembles exhibit spontaneous magnetism via light mediated interactions when submitted to optical feedback by a retroreflecting mirror. Drift direction and chirality of the waves arise from spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Generating Multiparticle Entangled States by Self-Organization of Driven Ultracold Atoms.

We describe a mechanism for guiding the dynamical evolution of ultracold atomic motional degrees of freedom toward multiparticle entangled Dicke-squeezed states, via nonlinear self-organization under external driving. Two examples of many-body models are investigated. In the first model, the external drive is a temporally oscillating magnetic field leading to self-organization by interatomic scattering.

Multiple Self-Organized Phases and Spatial Solitons in Cold Atoms Mediated by Optical Feedback.

We study the transverse self-structuring of cold atomic clouds with effective atomic interactions mediated by a coherent driving beam retroreflected by means of a single mirror. The resulting self-structuring due to optomechanical forces is much richer than that of an effective-Kerr medium, displaying hexagonal, stripe and honeycomb phases depending on the interaction strength parametrized by the linear susceptibility. Phase domains are described by Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equations with real coefficients.

Externally-Triggered Activation and Inhibition of Optical Pulsating Regimes in Quantum-Dot Mode-locked Lasers.

Controlled generation and inhibition of externally-triggered picosecond optical pulsating regimes are demonstrated experimentally in a quantum dot mode locked laser (QDMLL) subject to external injection of an amplitude modulated optical signal. This approach also allows full control and repeatability of the time windows of generated picosecond optical pulses; hence permitting to define precisely their temporal duration (from <1 ns spans) and repetition frequency (from sub-Hz to at least hundreds of MHz). The use of a monolithic QDMLL, operating at 1300 nm, provides a system with a very small footprint that is fully compatible with optical telecommunication networks.

Mapping the dynamical regimes of a SESAM mode-locked VECSEL with a long cavity using time series analysis.

The different dynamical regions of an optically-pumped SESAM mode-locked, long-cavity VECSEL system with a fundamental pulse repetition frequency of ~200 MHz are investigated. The output power, captured as 250 μs long time series using a sampling rate of 200 GSa/s, for each operating condition of the system, is analyzed to determine the dynamical state. A wavelength range of 985-995 nm and optical pump powers of 10 W-16.

Spontaneous Formation of Vector Vortex Beams in Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers with Feedback.

The spontaneous emergence of vector vortex beams with nonuniform polarization distribution is reported in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with frequency-selective feedback. Antivortices with a hyperbolic polarization structure and radially polarized vortices are demonstrated. They exist close to and partially coexist with vortices with uniform and nonuniform polarization distributions characterized by four domains of pairwise orthogonal polarization.

Observation of Mode-Locked Spatial Laser Solitons.

A stable nonlinear wave packet, self-localized in all three dimensions, is an intriguing and much sought after object in nonlinear science in general and in nonlinear photonics in particular. We report on the experimental observation of mode-locked spatial laser solitons in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with frequency-selective feedback from an external cavity. These spontaneously emerging and long-term stable spatiotemporal structures have a pulse length shorter than the cavity round-trip time and may pave the way to completely independent cavity light bullets.

Vector cavity solitons in broad area Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers.

We report the experimental observation of two-dimensional vector cavity solitons in a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) under linearly polarized optical injection when varying optical injection linear polarization direction. The polarization of the cavity soliton is not the one of the optical injection as it acquires a distinct ellipticity. These experimental results are qualitatively reproduced by the spin-flip VCSEL model.

Arrest of Domain Coarsening via Antiperiodic Regimes in Delay Systems.

Motionless domain walls representing connecting temporal or spatial orbits typically exist only for very specific parameters, around the so-called Maxwell point. This report introduces a novel mechanism for stabilizing temporal domain walls away from this peculiar equilibrium, opening up new possibilities to encode information in dynamical systems. It is based on antiperiodic regimes in a delayed system close to a bistable situation, leading to a cancellation of the average drift velocity.

Quantum threshold for optomechanical self-structuring in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Theoretical analysis of the optomechanics of degenerate bosonic atoms with a single feedback mirror shows that self-structuring occurs only above an input threshold that is quantum mechanical in origin. This threshold also implies a lower limit to the size (period) of patterns that can be produced in a condensate for a given pump intensity. These thresholds are interpreted as due to the quantum rigidity of Bose-Einstein condensates, which has no classical counterpart.

Self-organization in cold atomic gases: a synchronization perspective.

We study non-equilibrium spatial self-organization in cold atomic gases, where long-range spatial order spontaneously emerges from fluctuations in the plane transverse to the propagation axis of a single optical beam. The self-organization process can be interpreted as a synchronization transition in a fully connected network of fictitious oscillators, and described in terms of the Kuramoto model.

Complexity in pulsed nonlinear laser systems interrogated by permutation entropy.

Permutation entropy (PE) has a growing significance as a relative measure of complexity in nonlinear systems. It has been applied successfully to measuring complexity in nonlinear laser systems. Here, PE and weighted permutation entropy (WPE) are discovered to show an unexpected inversion to higher values, when characterizing the complexity at the characteristic frequencies of nonlinear drivers in laser systems, for output power sequences which are pulsed.

Kinetic theory for transverse optomechanical instabilities.

We investigate transverse symmetry-breaking instabilities emerging from the optomechanical coupling between light and the translational degrees of freedom of a collisionless, damping-free gas of cold, two-level atoms. We develop a kinetic theory that can also be mapped on to the case of an electron plasma under ponderomotive forces. A general criterion for the existence and spatial scale of transverse instabilities is identified; in particular, we demonstrate that monotonically decreasing velocity distribution functions are always unstable.

Experimental observation of localized structures in medium size VCSELs.

We report experimental evidence of spontaneous formation of localized structures in a 80 μm diameter Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) biased above the lasing threshold and under optical injection. Such localized structures are bistable with the injected beam power and the VCSEL current. We experimentally investigate the formation of localized structures for different detunings between the injected beam and the VCSEL, and different injection beam waists.

Dissipative solitons in the coupled dynamics of light and cold atoms.

We investigate the coupled dynamics of light and cold atoms in a unidirectional ring cavity, in the regime of low saturation and linear single-atom response. As the dispersive opto-mechanical coupling between light and the motional degrees of freedom of the atoms makes the dynamics nonlinear, we find that localized, nonlinearity-sustained and bistable structures can be encoded in the atomic density by means of appropriate control beams.

Adler synchronization of spatial laser solitons pinned by defects.

Defects due to growth fluctuations in broad-area semiconductor lasers induce pinning and frequency shifts of spatial laser solitons. The effects of defects on the interaction of two solitons are considered in lasers with frequency-selective feedback both theoretically and experimentally. We demonstrate frequency and phase synchronization of paired laser solitons as their detuning is varied.

Disorder mapping in VCSELs using frequency-selective feedback.

We report on a simple method with a high spectral and spatial resolution for mapping variations in the cavity resonance of a plano-planar broad-area laser based on frequency-selective feedback. The demonstration experiment uses a vertical-cavity surface-emitting-laser (VCSEL), in which growth induced inhomogeneities are of particular importance. It relies only on a standalone laser with a narrow-bandwidth passive filter avoiding the need for an expensive tunable laser or high-resolution spectrometer.

Compensation of spatial inhomogeneities in a cavity soliton laser using a spatial light modulator.

Dissipative solitons are self-localized states which can exist anywhere in a system with translational symmetry, but in real systems this translational symmetry is usually broken due to parasitic inhomogeneities leading to spatial disorder, pinning the soliton positions. We discuss the effects of semiconductor growth induced spatial disorder on the operation of a cavity soliton laser based on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). We show that a refractive index variation induced by an external, suitably spatially modulated laser beam can be used to counteract the inherent disorder.

Vortex solitons in lasers with feedback.

We report on the existence, stability and dynamical properties of two-dimensional self-localized vortices with azimuthal numbers up to 4 in a simple model for lasers with frequency-selective feedback.We build the full bifurcation diagram for vortex solutions and characterize the different dynamical regimes. The mathematical model used, which consists of a laser rate equation coupled to a linear equation for the feedback field, can describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of broad area vertical cavity surface emitting lasers with external frequency selective feedback in the limit of zero delay.

Femtosecond synchronously in-well pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser.

We demonstrate the first synchronously in-well pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL). Depending on the cavity mismatch, laser pulses with a duration from 1 ps to 7 ps at a repetition rate of 76 MHz were generated directly from the laser at 860 nm. The application of extra-cavity pulse compression further shortened the pulse to a duration of 210 fs providing a peak power of 226 W.

Self-localized structures in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with external feedback.

In this paper, we analyze a model of broad area vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers subjected to frequency-selective optical feedback. In particular, we analyze the spatio-temporal regimes arising above threshold and the existence and dynamical properties of cavity solitons. We build the bifurcation diagram of stationary self-localized states, finding that branches of cavity solitons emerge from the degenerate Hopf bifurcations marking the homogeneous solutions with maximal and minimal gain.

Coupling of polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of highly divergent emission in broad-area square vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers.

The polarization of highly divergent modes of broad-area square vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers is shown to be only marginally affected by material anisotropies but determined by an interplay of the polarization properties of the Bragg cavity mirrors and of the transverse boundary conditions. This leads to a locking of the polarization direction to the boundaries and its indeterminacy for wave vectors oriented along the diagonal. We point out a non-Poissonian character of nearest-neighbor frequency spacing distribution and the impossibility of single-wave number solutions.

Realization of a semiconductor-based cavity soliton laser.

The realization of a cavity soliton laser using a vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor gain structure coupled to an external cavity with a frequency-selective element is reported. All-optical control of bistable solitonic emission states representing small microlasers is demonstrated by injection of an external beam. The control scheme is phase insensitive and hence expected to be robust for all-optical processing applications.

Characteristics of switching dynamics in a semiconductor-based cavity-soliton laser.

The switching behavior of a semiconductor cavity soliton laser is experimentally investigated, based on a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with frequency-selective feedback. In particular, we show the effect of frequency detuning between cavity solitons and the external injection, the temporal dynamics during ignition and erasure, and characterize the necessary injection pulse width versus its power for successful switching.

Spatial structure of broad-area vertical-cavity regenerative amplifiers.

We investigate the spatial structure of broad-area vertical-cavity regenerative amplifiers injected with a homogeneous beam. The emerging patterns have a predominantly sixfold rotational symmetry, verifying the recent prediction of formation of hexagons. The length scale is controllable by means of detuning and follows the prediction for tilted waves.