Experimental Generation of Riemann Waves in Optics: A Route to Shock Wave Control

Year: 2016

Authors: Wetzel B., Bongiovanni D., Kues M., Hu Y., Chen Z., Trillo S., Dudley J.M., Wabnitz S., Morandotti R.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Quebec, Inst Natl Rech Sci, Varennes, PQ J3X 1S2, Canada; Univ Sussex, Sch Math & Phys Sci, Sussex House, Brighton BN1 9RH, E Sussex, England; Nankai Univ, MOE Key Lab Weak Light Nonlinear Photon, Tianjin 300457, Peoples R China; Nankai Univ, TEDA Appl Phys Inst, Tianjin 300457, Peoples R China; Nankai Univ, Sch Phys, Tianjin 300457, Peoples R China; Univ Ferrara, Dipartimento Ingn, Via Saragat 1, I-44122 Ferrara, Italy; Univ Franche Comte, CNRS, UMR 6174, Inst FEMTO ST, F-25030 Besancon, France; Univ Brescia, Dipartimento Ingn Informaz, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; INO CNR, Via Branze 38, I-25123 Brescia, Italy; Univ Elect Sci & Technol China, Inst Fundamental & Frontier Sci, Chengdu 610054, Peoples R China.

Abstract: We report the first observation of Riemann (simple) waves, which play a crucial role for understanding the dynamics of any shock-bearing system. This was achieved by properly tailoring the phase of an ultrashort light pulse injected into a highly nonlinear fiber. Optical Riemann waves are found to evolve in excellent quantitative agreement with the remarkably simple inviscid Burgers equation, whose applicability in physical systems is often challenged by viscous or dissipative effects. Our method allows us to further demonstrate a viable novel route to efficiently control the shock formation by the proper shaping of a laser pulse phase. Our results pave the way towards the experimental study, in a convenient benchtop setup, of complex physical phenomena otherwise difficult to access.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 117 (7)      Pages from: 73902-1  to: 73902-6

More Information: We gratefully acknowledge very helpful discussions with Dmitry Pelinovsky, as well as the experimental support of Robin Helsten. This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) through the Strategic and Discovery Grants Schemes and from the MESI in Quebec. B. W. acknowledges the support from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s FP7 Programme under REA Grant Agreement INCIPIT (No. PIOF-GA-2013-625466). M. K. acknowledges support from FRQNT (Fonds de Recherche du Quebec-Nature et Technologies) through the Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students Ministere de l’Education, de l’Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche du Quebec) and funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 656607. Z. C. acknowledges support from NSF and AFOSR. S. T. and S. W. acknowledge support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) (PRIN-2012BFNWZ2).
KeyWords: Light; Nonlinear optics; Partial differential equations; Pulse shaping, Bearing systems; Burgers equations; Dissipative effects; Highly nonlinear fibers; Physical phenomena; Physical systems; Quantitative agreement; Ultra-short light pulse, Shock waves
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.073902

Citations: 42
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-10-27
References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)
Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click here
Connecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here