Search

The FitzHugh-Nagumo model, originally introduced to study neural dynamics, has since found applications across diverse fields, including cardiology and biology. However, the formation and bifurcation structure of spatially localized states in this model remain underexplored. In this work, we present a detailed bifurcation analysis of such localized structures in one spatial dimension in the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. We demonstrate that these localized states undergo a smooth transition between standard and collapsed homoclinic snaking as the system shifts from pattern-uniform to uniform-uniform bistability. Additionally, we explore the oscillatory dynamics exhibited by these states when varying the time-scale separation and diffusion coefficient. Our study leverages a combination of analytical and numerical techniques to uncover the stability and dynamic regimes of spatially localized structures, offering new insights into the mechanisms governing spatial localization in this widely used model system.

We study the diffraction of a particular class of beams, composed only by a combination of azimuthally invariant guided modes of an optical fiber. We demonstrate that such beams can be obtained by injecting a Gaussian beam in a small piece of silica graded-index multimode fiber. This minimalistic low-cost method is applied for improving the axial resolution of a two-photon microscope., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

The FitzHugh-Nagumo equation, originally conceived in neuroscience during the 1960s, became a key model providing a simplified view of excitable neuron cell behavior. Its applicability, however, extends beyond neuroscience into fields like cardiac physiology, cell division, population dynamics, electronics, and other natural phenomena. In this review spanning six decades of research, we discuss the diverse spatio-temporal dynamical behaviors described by the FitzHugh-Nagumo equation. These include dynamics like bistability, oscillations, and excitability, but it also addresses more complex phenomena such as traveling waves and extended patterns in coupled systems. The review serves as a guide for modelers aiming to utilize the strengths of the FitzHugh-Nagumo model to capture generic dynamical behavior. It not only catalogs known dynamical states and bifurcations, but also extends previous studies by providing stability and bifurcation analyses for coupled spatial systems., Comment: 39 pages, 18 figures

We analyze the implication of tristability on localization phenomena in one-dimensional extended dissipative systems. In this context, localized states appear due to the interaction and locking of front waves connecting different extended states. In the tristable regime investigated here two extended uniform states coexist with one periodic Turing pattern. This scenario leads to the transition from the standard-homoclinic-snaking-related localized states associated with uniform-pattern bistability to the collapsed-homoclinic-snaking-related states which arise in a uniform-bistable configuration. We find that this transition is mediated by the emergence of hybrid states through codimension-two necking bifurcations. To perform this study we use bifurcation analysis on a non-variational mean-field model describing the spatiotemporal dynamics of light pulses in passive Kerr cavities.

In this work, we study the bifurcation structures and the stability of multidimensional localized states within coherently driven Kerr optical cavities with parabolic potentials in 1D, 2D, and 3D systems. Based on symmetric considerations, we transform higher-dimensional models into a single 1D model with a dimension parameter. This transformation not only yields a substantial reduction in computational complexity, but also enables an efficient examination of how dimensionality impacts the system dynamics. In the absence of nonlinearity, we analyze the eigenstates of the linear systems. This allows us to uncover a heightened concentration of the eigenmodes at the center of the potential well, while witnessing a consistent equal spacing among their eigenvalues, as the dimension parameter increases. In the presence of nonlinearity, our findings distinctly reveal that the stability of the localized states diminishes with increasing dimensionality. This study offers an approach to tackling high-dimensional problems, shedding light on the fundamental dimensional connections among radially symmetric states across different dimensions, and providing valuable tools for analysis.

We study the dynamics of Kerr cavity solitons in the normal dispersion regime, in the presence of an intracavity phase modulation. The associated parabolic potential introduces multimode resonances, which promote the formation of high-order bright solitons. By gradually reducing the potential strength, bright solitons undergo a transition into dark solitons. We describe this process as a shift from a multimode resonance to a collapsed snaking bifurcation structure. This work offers a comprehensive overview of cavity dynamics and may provide a potential pathway to access multi-stable states by effectively varying the phase modulation.

We analyze the formation of three-dimensional spatiotemporal solitons in waveguides with a parabolic refractive index profile and pure quartic chromatic dispersion. We show, by applying both variational approaches and full three-dimensional numerical simulations, that fourth-order dispersion has a positive impact on soliton stabilization against spatiotemporal wave collapse. Specifically, pure quartic spatiotemporal solitons remain stable within a significantly larger energy range with respect to their second-order dispersion counterparts.

In this work, the emergence of single-peak temporal dissipative solitons in singly-resonant degenerate optical parametric oscillators is investigated analytically. Applying the Kantarovich optimization method, through a Lagrangian variational formalism, an approximate analytical soliton solution is computed using a parameter-dependent ansatz. This permits to obtain analytical estimations for the dissipative soliton energy, peak power, and existence boundaries, which are of great value for experimentalist. To confirm the validity of this procedure, these analytical results are compared with a numerical study performed in the context of pure quadratic systems, showing a good agreement.

By means of a modified Lugiato-Lefever equation model, we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of dissipative wave structures in coherently-driven Kerr cavities with a parabolic potential. The potential stabilizes system dynamics, leading to the generation of robust dissipative solitons in the positive detuning regime, and of higher-order solitons in the negative detuning regime. In order to understand the underlying mechanisms which are responsible for these high-order states, we decompose the field on the basis of linear eigenmodes of the system. This permits to investigate the resulting nonlinear mode coupling processes. By increasing the external pumping, one observes the emergence of high-order breathers and chaoticons. Our modal content analysis reveals that breathers are dominated by modes of corresponding orders, while chaoticons exhibit proper chaotic dynamics. We characterize the evolution of dissipative structures by using bifurcation diagrams, and confirm their stability by combining linear stability analysis results with numerical simulations. Finally, we draw phase diagrams that summarize the complex dynamics landscape, obtained when varying the pump, the detuning, and the strength of the potential.

In this work, we present a detailed study of the dynamics and stability of fundamental spatiotemporal solitons emerging in multimode waveguides with a parabolic transverse profile of the linear refractive index. Pulsed beam propagation in these structures can be described by using a Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a two-dimensional parabolic spatial potential. Our investigations are based on comparing variational approaches, based on the Ritz optimization method, with extensive numerical simulations. We found that, with a Kerr self-focusing nonlinearity, spatiotemporal solitons are stable for low pulse energies, where our analytical results find a perfect agreement with the numerical simulations. However, solitons with progressively increasing energies eventually undergo wave collapse, which is not predicted within the variational framework. In a self-defocusing scenario, again for low energies there is good agreement between the variational predictions and simulations. Whereas, for large soliton energies complex spatiotemporal dynamics emerge.

We theoretically investigate the dynamics, bifurcation structure and stability of dark localized states emerging in Kerr cavities in the presence of second- and fourth-order dispersion. These states form through the locking of uniform wave fronts, or domain walls, connecting two coexisting stable uniform states. They undergo a generic bifurcation structure known as collapsed homoclinic snaking. We characterize the robustness of these states by computing their stability and bifurcation structure as a function of the main control parameter of the system. Furthermore, we show that by increasing the dispersion of fourth order, bright localized states can be also stabilized.

We present a general approach to excite robust dissipative three-dimensional and high-order solitons and breathers in passively driven nonlinear cavities. Our findings are illustrated in the paradigmatic example provided by an optical Kerr cavity with diffraction and anomalous dispersion, with the addition of an attractive three-dimensional parabolic potential. The potential breaks the translational symmetry along all directions, and impacts the system in a qualitatively unexpected manner: three-dimensional solitons, or light-bullets, are the only existing and stable states for a given set of parameters. This property is extremely rare, if not unknown, in passive nonlinear physical systems. As a result, the excitation of the cavity with any input field leads to the deterministic formation of a target soliton or breather, with a spatiotemporal profile that unambiguously corresponds to the given cavity and pumping conditions. In addition, the tuning of the potential width along the temporal direction results in the existence of a plethora of stable asymmetric solitons. Our results may provide a solid route towards the observation of dissipative light bullets and three-dimensional breathers.

We develop a spatiotemporal mode decomposition technique to study the mode power distribution of ultrashort pulses emerging from long spans of graded-index multimode fiber, for different input laser conditions. We find that beam mode power content in the dispersive pulse propagation regime can be described by the Bose-Einstein law, as a result of the process of power diffusion from linear and nonlinear mode coupling among nondegenerate mode groups. In the soliton regime, the output mode power distribution approaches the Rayleigh-Jeans law

We analyze the impact of pump depletion in the generation of cavity solitons in a singly-resonant parametrical oscillator that includes a $\chi^{(3)}$ nonlinear section. We find an analytical expression that provides the soliton existence region using variational methods, study the efficiency of energy conversion, and compare it to a driven Kerr resonator modeled by the Lugiato-Lefever equation. At high walk-off, solitons in singly-resonant optical parametric oscillators are more efficient than those formed in a Kerr resonator driven through a linear coupler., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Spatially extended patterns and multistability of possible different states is common in many ecosystems, and their combination has an important impact on their dynamical behaviours. One potential combination involves tristability between a patterned state and two different uniform states. Using a simplified version of the Gilad-Meron model for dryland ecosystems, we study the organization, in bifurcation terms, of the localized structures arising in tristable regimes. These states are generally related with the concept of wave front locking, and appear in the form of spots and gaps of vegetation. We find that the coexistence of localized spots and gaps, within tristable configurations, yield the appearance of hybrid states. We also study the emergence of spatiotemporal localized states consisting in a portion of a periodic pattern embedded in a uniform Hopf-like oscillatory background in a subcritical Turing-Hopf dynamical regime.

Phase-matching of the third-harmonic generation process can be used to extend the emission of radiation from Kerr microresonators into new spectral regions far from the pump wavelength. Here, we present a theoretical mean-field model for optical frequency combs in a dissipative and nonlinear $\chi^{(3)}$-based cavity system with parametric coupling between fundamental and third-harmonic waves. We investigate temporally dispersive dual-comb generation of phase-matched combs with broad bandwidth, and report conditions for accessing a multistable regime that simultaneously supports two types of coupled bright cavity solitons. These bistable cavity solitons coexist for the same pump power and frequency detuning, while featuring dissimilar amplitudes of their individual field components. Third-harmonic generation frequency combs can permit telecom pump laser sources to simultaneously directly access both the near-infrared and the visible regions, which may be advantageous for the development of optical clocks and sensing applications., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures

We analyze the stability and dynamics of dissipative Kerr solitons in the presence of a parabolic potential. This potential stabilizes oscillatory and chaotic regimes, favoring the generation of static DKSs. Furthermore, the potential induces the emergence of new dissipative structures, such as asymmetric breathers and chimera-like states. Based on a mode decomposition of these states, we unveil the underlying modal interactions.

A wide variety of stationary or moving spatially localized structures is present in evolution problems on unbounded domains, governed by higher-than-second-order reversible spatial interactions. This work provides a generic unfolding in one spatial dimension of a certain codimension-three singularity that explains the organization of bifurcation diagrams of such localized states in a variety of contexts, ranging from nonlinear optics to fluid mechanics, mathematical biology and beyond. The singularity occurs when a cusp bifurcation associated with the onset of bistability between homogeneous steady states encounters a pattern-forming, or Turing, bifurcation. The latter corresponds to a Hamiltonian-Hopf point of the corresponding spatial dynamics problem. Such codimension-three points are sometimes called Lifshitz points in the physics literature. In the simplest case where the spatial system conserves a first integral, the system is described by a canonical fourth order scalar system. The problem contains three small parameters, two that unfold the cusp bifurcation and one that unfolds the Turing bifurcation. Several cases are revealed, depending on open conditions on the signs of the lowest-order nonlinear terms. Taking the case in which the Turing bifurcation is subcritical, various parameter regimes are considered and the bifurcation diagrams of localized structures are elucidated. A rich bifurcation structure is revealed, which involves transitions between regions of localized periodic patterns generated by homoclinic snaking, and mesa-like patterns with uniform cores. The theory is shown to unify previous numerical results obtained in models arising in nonlinear optics, fluid mechanics, and excitable media more generally.

We theoretically investigate the dynamics, bifurcation structure and stability of localized states in Kerr cavities driven at the pure fourth-order dispersion point. Both the normal and anomalous group velocity dispersion regimes are analysed, highlighting the main differences with the standard second order dispersion case. In the anomalous regime, single and multi-peak localised states exist and are stable over a much wider region of the parameter space. In the normal dispersion regime, stable narrow bright solitons exist. Some of our findings can be understood by a new scenario reported here for the spatial eigenvalues, which imposes oscillatory tails to all localised states. To be published in Optics Letters., Comment: To be published in Optics Letters

We demonstrate neuron-like spiking dynamics in the asymmetrically driven dissipative photonic Bose-Hubbard dimmer model which describes two coupled nonlinear passive Kerr cavities. Spiking dynamics appear due to the excitable nature of the system. In this context, excitable excursions in the phase space correspond to spikes in the temporal evolution of the field variables. In our case, excitability is mediated by the destruction of an oscillatory state in a global homoclinic bifurcation. In this type of excitability (known as type-I) the period of the oscillatory state diverges when approaching the bifurcation. Beyond this point, the system exhibits excitable dynamics under the application of suitable perturbations. We have also characterized the effect that additive Gaussian noise has on the spiking dynamics, showing that the system undergoes a coherence resonance for a given value of the noise strength.

In this work, we unveil the unique complex dynamics of multimode soliton interactions in graded-index optical fibers through simulations and experiments. By generating two multimode solitons from the fission of an input femtosecond pulse, we examine the evolution of their Raman-induced red-shift when the input pulse energy grows larger. Remarkably, we find that the output red-shift of the trailing multimode soliton may be reduced, so that it accelerates until it collides with the leading multimode soliton. As a result of the inelastic collision, a significant energy transfer occurs between the two multimode solitons: the trailing soliton captures energy from the leading soliton, which ultimately enhances its red-shift, thus increasing temporal separation between the two multimode solitons.

We perform a systematic study of the temporal dynamics emerging in the asymmetrically driven dissipative Bose-Hubbard dimer model. This model successfully describes the nonlinear dynamics of photonic diatomic molecules in linearly coupled Kerr resonators coherently excited by a single laser beam. Such temporal dynamics include self-pulsing oscillations, period doubled oscillatory states, chaotic dynamics, and spikes. The different states and dynamical regimes have been thoroughly characterized using bifurcation analysis. This analysis has allowed us to identify the main instabilities, i.e. bifurcations, responsible for the appearance of the previously stated dynamics.

The generation of stable short optical pulses in mode-locked lasers is of tremendous importance for many applications. Mode-locking is a broad concept that encompasses different processes enabling short pulse formation. It typically requires an intracavity mechanism that discriminates between single and collective mode lasing, which can be complex and sometimes adds noise. Moreover, known mode-locking schemes do not guarantee phase stability of the carrier wave. Here we theoretically propose that injecting a detuned signal seamlessly leads to mode-locking in fiber lasers. We show that phase-locked pulses, akin to cavity solitons, exist in a wide range of parameters. In that regime the laser behaves as a passive resonator due to the non-instantaneous gain saturation., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We theoretically investigate the dynamics, bifurcation structure and stability of quadratic dark localized dissipative states arising in cavity enhanced second-harmonic generation. These states, formed through the locking of plane front waves, undergo collapsed homoclinic snaking and may exhibit oscillatory dynamics.

We study the emergence of dissipative localized states in phase mismatched singly resonant optical parametric oscillators. These states arise in two different bistable configurations due to the locking of fronts waves connecting the two coexisting states. In one of these configurations the bistabiity is mediated by the coexistence of two uniform states. Here the localized states are organized in a collapsed snaking bifurcation structure. Moreover, these states undergo oscillatory instabilities which lead to a breathing behavior. When the the bistability is related with the coexistence of an uniform state and a spatially periodic pattern, localized states are organized in a bifurcation structure similar to the standard homoclinic snaking. Performing an exhaustive bifurcation analysis, we characterize in detail the previous structures, their linear stability and the modification of their dynamics as a function of the control parameters of the system.

We experimentally investigate the nonlinear dynamics of two coupled fiber ring resonators, coherently driven by a single laser beam. We comprehensively explore the optical switching arising when scanning the detuning of the undriven cavity, and show how the driven cavity detuning dramatically changes the resulting hysteresis cycle. By driving the photonic dimer out-of-equilibrium, we observe the occurrence of stable self-switching oscillations near avoided resonance crossings. All results agree well with the driven-dissipative Bose-Hubbard dimer model in the weakly coupled regime.

We study temporally localized structures in doubly resonant degenerate optical parametric oscillators in the absence of temporal walk-off. We focus on states formed through the locking of domain walls between the zero and a non-zero continuous wave solution. We show that these states undergo collapsed snaking and we characterize their dynamics in the parameter space.

Temporal cavity solitons are optical pulses that propagate indefinitely in nonlinear resonators. They are currently attracting a lot of attention, both for their many potential applications and for their connection to other fields of science. Cavity solitons are phase locked to a driving laser. This is what distinguishes them from laser dissipative solitons and the main reason why they are excellent candidates for precision applications such as optical atomic clocks. To date, the focus has been on driving Kerr solitons close to their carrier frequency, in which case a single stable localised solution exists for fixed parameters. Here we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, Kerr cavity solitons excitation around twice their carrier frequency. In that configuration, called parametric driving, two solitons of opposite phase may coexist. We use a fibre resonator that incorporates a quadratically nonlinear section and excite stable solitons by scanning the driving frequency. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with a seminal amplitude equation, highlighting connections to hydrodynamic and mechanical systems, amongst others. Furthermore, we experimentally confirm that two different phase-locked solitons may be simultaneously excited and harness this multiplicity to generate a string of random bits, thereby extending the pool of applications of Kerr resonators to random number generators and Ising machines.

Localized coherent structures can form in externally-driven dispersive optical cavities with a Kerr-type nonlinearity. Such systems are described by the Lugiato-Lefever equation, which supports a large variety of dynamical solutions. Here, we review our current knowledge on the formation, stability and bifurcation structure of localized structures in the one-dimensional Lugiato-Lefever equation. We do so by focusing on two main regimes of operation: anomalous and normal second-order dispersion. In the anomalous regime, localized patterns are organized in a homoclinic snaking scenario, which is eventually destroyed, leading to a foliated snaking bifurcation structure. In the normal regime, however, localized structures undergo a different type of bifurcation structure, known as collapsed snaking.

Optical frequency combs are lightwaves composed of a large number of equidistant spectral lines. They are important for metrology, spectroscopy, communications and fundamental science. Frequency combs are most often generated by exciting dissipative solitons in lasers or in passive resonators, both of which suffer from significant limitations. Here, we show that the advantages of each platform can be combined. We introduce a novel kind of soliton, called active cavity soliton, hosted in coherently driven lasers pumped below the lasing threshold. We use an active fibre resonator and measure high peak power solitons on a low power background, in excellent agreement with simulations of a generalized Lugiato-Lefever equation. Moreover, we find that amplified spontaneous emission has negligible impact on the soliton's stability. Our results open up novel avenues for frequency comb formation by showing that coherent driving and incoherent pumping can be efficiently combined to generate a high-power ultra-stable pulse train.

We investigate the influence of the stimulated Raman scattering on the formation of bright and dark localized states in all-fiber resonators subject to a coherent optical injection, when operating in the normal dispersion regime. In the absence of the Raman effect, and far from any modulational instability, localized structures form due to the locking of domain walls connecting two coexisting continuous wave states, and undergo a particular bifurcation structure known as collapsed snaking. The stimulated Raman scattering breaks the reflection symmetry of the system, and modifies the dynamics, stability, and locking of domain walls. This modification leads to the formation of, not only dark, but also bright moving localized states, which otherwise are absent. We perform a detailed bifurcation analysis of these localized states, and classify their dynamics and stability as a function of the main parameters of the system.

We analyze the formation of localized structures in cavity-enhanced second-harmonic generation. We focus on the phase-matched limit, and consider that fundamental and generated waves have opposite sign of group velocity dispersion. We show that these states form due to the locking of domain walls connecting two stable homogeneous states of the system, and undergo collapsed snaking. We study the impact of temporal walk-off on the stability and dynamics of these localized states., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures

We study the formation of localized patterns arising in doubly resonant dispersive optical parametric oscillators. They form through the locking of fronts connecting a continuous-wave and a Turing pattern state. This type of localized pattern can be seen as a slug of the pattern embedded in a homogeneous surrounding. They are organized in terms of a homoclinic snaking bifurcation structure, which is preserved under the modification of the control parameter of the system. We show that, in the presence of phase mismatch, localized patterns can undergo oscillatory instabilities which make them breathe in a complex manner.

The Eckhaus instability is a secondary instability of nonlinear spatiotemporal patterns in which high-wavenumber periodic solutions become unstable against small-wavenumber perturbations. We show in this letter that this instability can take place in Kerr combs generated with ultra-high $Q$ whispering-gallery mode resonators. In our experiment, sub-critical Turing patterns (rolls) undergo Eckhaus instabilities upon changes in the laser detuning leading to cracking patterns with long-lived transients. In the spectral domain, this results in a metastable Kerr comb dynamics with a timescale that can be larger than one minute. This ultra-slow timescale is at least seven orders of magnitude larger than the intracavity photon lifetime, and is in sharp contrast with all the transient behaviors reported so far in cavity nonlinear optics, that are typically only few photon lifetimes long (i.e., in the ps range). We show that this phenomenology is well explained by the Lugiato-Lefever model, as the result of an Eckhaus instability. Our theoretical analysis is found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements.

We propose a mean-field model to describe second harmonic generation in a resonator made of a material with zincblende crystalline structure. The model is obtained through an averaging of the propagation equations and boundary conditions. It considers the phase-mismatched terms, which act as an effective Kerr effect. We analyze the impact of the different terms on the steady state solutions, highlighting the competition between nonlinearities.

In this paper, we study theoretically the emergence of localized states of vegetation close to the onset of desertification. These states are formed through the locking of vegetation fronts, connecting a uniform vegetation state with a bare soil state, which occurs nearby the Maxwell point of the system. To study these structures we consider a universal model of vegetation dynamics in drylands, which has been obtained as the normal form for different vegetation models. Close to the Maxwell point localized gaps and spots of vegetation exist and undergo collapsed snaking. The presence of gaps strongly suggest that the ecosystem may undergo a recovering process. In contrast, the presence of spots may indicate that the ecosystem is close to desertification.

In this letter we theoretically investigate the formation of localized temporal dissipative structures, and their corresponding frequency combs in doubly resonant dispersive optical parametric oscillators. We derive a nonlocal mean field model, and show that domain wall locking allows for the formation of stable coherent optical frequency combs.

We report a theoretical investigation of quadratic frequency combs in a dispersive second-harmonic generation cavity system. We identify different dynamical regimes and demonstrate that the same system can exhibit both bright and dark localized cavity solitons in the absence of a temporal walk-off., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We study the stability and bifurcation structure of spatially extended patterns arising in nonlin- ear optical resonators with a Kerr-type nonlinearity and anomalous group velocity dispersion, as described by the Lugiato-Lefever equation. While there exists a one-parameter family of patterns with different wavelengths, we focus our attention on the pattern with critical wave number k c arising from the modulational instability of the homogeneous state. We find that the branch of solutions associated with this pattern connects to a branch of patterns with wave number $2k_c$ . This next branch also connects to a branch of patterns with double wave number, this time $4k_c$ , and this process repeats through a series of 2:1 spatial resonances. For values of the detuning parameter approaching $\theta = 2$ from below the critical wave number $k_c$ approaches zero and this bifurcation structure is related to the foliated snaking bifurcation structure organizing spatially localized bright solitons. Secondary bifurcations that these patterns undergo and the resulting temporal dynamics are also studied., Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures

The origin, stability and bifurcation structure of different types of bright localized structures described by the Lugiato-Lefever equation is studied. This mean field model describes the nonlinear dynamics of light circulating in fiber cavities and microresonators. In the case of anomalous group velocity dispersion and low values of the intracavity phase detuning these bright states are organized in a homoclinic snaking bifurcation structure. We describe how this bifurcation structure is destroyed when the detuning is increased across a critical value, and determine how a new bifurcation structure known as foliated snaking emerges., Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures

Bound states, also called soliton molecules, can form as a result of the interaction between individual solitons. This interaction is mediated through the tails of each soliton that overlap with one another. When such soliton tails have spatial oscillations, locking or pinning between two solitons can occur at fixed distances related with the wavelength of these oscillations, thus forming a bound state. In this work, we study the formation and stability of various types of bound states in the Lugiato-Lefever equation by computing their interaction potential and by analyzing the properties of the oscillatory tails. Moreover, we study the effect of higher order dispersion and noise in the pump intensity on the dynamics of bound states. In doing so, we reveal that perturbations to the Lugiato-Lefever equation that maintain reversibility, such as fourth order dispersion, lead to bound states that tend to separate from one another in time when noise is added. This separation force is determined by the shape of the envelope of the interaction potential, as well as an additional Brownian ratchet effect. In systems with broken reversibility, such as third order dispersion, this ratchet effect continues to push solitons within a bound state apart. However, the force generated by the envelope of the potential is now such that it pushes the solitons towards each other, leading to a null net drift of the solitons., Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures

Spatially extended systems can support local transient excitations in which just a part of the system is excited. The mechanisms reported so far are local excitability and excitation of a localized structure. Here we introduce an alternative mechanism based on the coexistence of two homogeneous stable states and spatial coupling. We show the existence of a threshold for perturbations of the homogeneous state. Sub-threshold perturbations decay exponentially. Super-threshold perturbations induce the emergence of a long-lived structure formed by two back to back fronts that join the two homogeneous states. While in typical excitability the trajectory follows the remnants of a limit cycle, here reinjection is provided by front interaction, such that fronts slowly approach each other until eventually annihilating. This front-mediated mechanism shows that extended systems with no oscillatory regimes can display excitability., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Using the Lugiato-Lefever model, we analyze the effects of third order chromatic dispersion on the existence and stability of dark and bright soliton Kerr frequency combs in the normal dispersion regime. While in the absence of third order dispersion only dark solitons exist over an extended parameter range, we find that third order dispersion allows for stable dark and bright solitons to coexist. Reversibility is broken and the shape of the switching waves connecting the top and bottom homogeneous solutions is modified. Bright solitons come into existence thanks to the generation of oscillations in the switching wave profiles. Finally, oscillatory instabilities of dark solitons are also suppressed in the presence of sufficiently strong third order dispersion.

The regions of existence and stability of dark solitons in the Lugiato-Lefever model with normal chromatic dispersion are described. These localized states are shown to be organized in a bifurcation structure known as collapsed snaking implying the presence of a region in parameter space with a finite multiplicity of dark solitons. For some parameter values dynamical instabilities are responsible for the appearance of oscillations and temporal chaos. The importance of the results for understanding frequency comb generation in microresonators is emphasized., Comment: 18 pages, 22 figures

We analyze dark pulse Kerr frequency combs in optical resonators with normal group-velocity dispersion using the Lugiato-Lefever model. We show that in the time domain these correspond to interlocked switching waves between the upper and lower homogeneous states, and explain how this fact accounts for many of their experimentally observed properties. Modulational instability does not play any role in their existence. Furthermore, we provide a detailed map indicating where stable dark pulse Kerr combs can be found in parameter space, and how they are destabilized for increasing values of frequency detuning.

In Ref. [Parra-Rivas at al., 2013], using the Swift-Hohenberg equation, we introduced a mechanism that allows to generate oscillatory and excitable soliton dynamics. This mechanism was based on a competition between a pinning force at inhomogeneities and a pulling force due to drift. Here, we study the effect of such inhomogeneities and drift on temporal solitons and Kerr frequency combs in fiber cavities and microresonators, described by the Lugiato-Lefever equation with periodic boundary conditions. We demonstrate that for low values of the frequency detuning the competition between inhomogeneities and drift leads to similar dynamics at the defect location, confirming the generality of the mechanism. The intrinsic periodic nature of ring cavities and microresonators introduces, however, some interesting differences in the final global states. For higher values of the detuning we observe that the dynamics is no longer described by the same mechanism and it is considerably more complex., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures