Auto-modulation versus breathers in the nonlinear stage of modulational instability.

The nonlinear stage of modulational instability in optical fibers induced by a wide and easily accessible class of localized perturbations is studied using the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. It is shown that the development of associated spatio-temporal patterns is strongly affected by the shape and the parameters of the perturbation. Different scenarios are presented that involve an auto-modulation developing in a characteristic wedge, possibly coexisting with breathers which lie inside or outside the wedge.