ArticlePDF Available

Periodic Wave Trains in Nonlinear Media: Talbot Revivals, Akhmediev Breathers, and Asymmetry Breaking

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

We study theoretically and observe experimentally the evolution of periodic wave trains by utilizing surface gravity water wave packets. Our experimental system enables us to observe both the amplitude and the phase of these wave packets. For low steepness waves, the propagation dynamics is in the linear regime, and these waves unfold a Talbot carpet. By increasing the steepness of the waves and the corresponding nonlinear response, the waves follow the Akhmediev breather solution, where the higher frequency periodic patterns at the fractional Talbot distance disappear. Further increase in the wave steepness leads to deviations from the Akhmediev breather solution and to asymmetric breaking of the wave function. Unlike the periodic revival that occurs in the linear regime, here the wave crests exhibit self acceleration, followed by self deceleration at half the Talbot distance, thus completing a smooth transition of the periodic pulse train by half a period. Such phenomena can be theoretically modeled by using the Dysthe equation.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Periodic Wave Trains in Nonlinear Media: Talbot Revivals,
Akhmediev Breathers, and Asymmetry Breaking
Georgi Gary Rozenman,1,2 Wolfgang P. Schleich ,3,4 Lev Shemer ,5and Ady Arie 2
1Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy,
Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
2School of Electrical Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering,
Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
3Institut für Quantenphysik and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST),
Universität Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany
4Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Research,
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering (IQSE), and Department of Physics and Astronomy,
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4242, USA
5School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
(Received 1 March 2022; accepted 7 April 2022; published 27 May 2022)
We study theoretically and observe experimentally the evolution of periodic wave trains by utilizing
surface gravity water wave packets. Our experimental system enables us to observe both the amplitude
and the phase of these wave packets. For low steepness waves, the propagation dynamics is in the linear
regime, and these waves unfold a Talbot carpet. By increasing the steepness of the waves and the
corresponding nonlinear response, the waves follow the Akhmediev breather solution, where the higher
frequency periodic patterns at the fractional Talbot distance disappear. Further increase in the wave
steepness leads to deviations from the Akhmediev breather solution and to asymmetric breaking of the
wave function. Unlike the periodic revival that occurs in the linear regime, here the wave crests exhibit self
acceleration, followed by self deceleration at half the Talbot distance, thus completing a smooth transition
of the periodic pulse train by half a period. Such phenomena can be theoretically modeled by using the
Dysthe equation.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.214101
Introduction.The optical Talbot effect, discovered by
Henry Fox Talbot in the 19th century [1], is the revival of a
periodic light pattern at periodic distances (Talbot distances
denoted xT¼2T2=λ, where Tand λare the period of the
diffraction grating and optical wavelength) from the input
plane [2]. Moreover, higher frequency periodic patterns
appear at fractional Talbot distances. The fractional Talbot
distance is given by pxT=q, where pand qare prime
numbers and the oscillation frequency is qtimes faster [3].
Because of the quantum mechanical wave nature of
particles, such diffraction effects have also been observed
with matter waves [46], which are similar to those in the
case of light waves [7].
Ever since, this phenomenon in quantum physics, which
is closely related to the Talbot effect, has been extensively
studied in many quantum mechanical systems [818].For
instance, a quantum carpet can be constructed from an
evolution of the wave function of a single particle in an
infinite square well [1921].
The evolution of periodic wave trains was also ex-
tended to the nonlinear regime. Specifically, Akhmediev
[2224] derived an analytic solution, known as Akhmediev
breather, to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE)
with third order nonlinear response, which was recently
studied experimentally in a cubic nonlinear optical medium
[25,26]. One of the interesting predictions [27], which was
not observed experimentally until now, is that when the
nonlinear effects become significant, the faster oscillations
at the fractional Talbot distances disappear.
In this Letter, we study the evolution of periodic wave
trains for different levels of nonlinearity, by using surface
gravity water wave pulses. The linear wave equation for
these waves is analogous to the Schrödinger equation for
quantum wave packets, and to the paraxial Helmholtz
equation for optical beams [2834]. The nonlinear terms of
the Schrödinger equations can be controlled by setting the
steepness of the initial wave packet. At low steepness, the
propagation dynamics along the test section is approxi-
mately linear, thus we observe the familiar Talbot carpet,
including the higher frequency oscillations at fractional
Talbot distances. For higher steepness, we observe the
disappearance of these fractional orders, in correspondence
with Akhmedievs solution. But when we further increase
the steepness, asymmetric breaking of the wave packet is
observed, i.e., the wave crests accelerate and then decele-
rate at half the Talbot distance leading to a shift of the pulse
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
Editors' Suggestion
0031-9007=22=128(21)=214101(6) 214101-1 © 2022 American Physical Society
train by half a period. This behavior is significantly
different with respect to the familiar disappearance and
revival of the wave crests in the linear case. This pheno-
menon can no longer be described using the analytic
Akhmediev breather, but is in agreement with numerical
predictions based on the Dysthe equation [32,35].
Scheme.The observation of the linear and nonlinear
Talbot effect is performed in a 5 m long, 0.4 m wide, and
0.2 m deep water-wave tank with a computer controlled
wave maker, see Fig. 1. A wave energy absorbing beach is
placed at the other end of the water tank. To eliminate the
effect of the beach, precise measurements of the water
surface elevation are carried out by wave gauges at
distances not exceeded 4.5 m from the wave maker.
For surface gravity water waves with high steepness, we
apply the spatial version of the Dysthe equations [32,35,36]
A
ξþi2A
τ2þijAj2Aþ8εjAj2A
τ
þ2εA2A
τþ4iεAΦ
τ
Z¼0¼0;ð1Þ
42Φ
τ2þ2Φ
Z2¼0ðZ<0Þ;
Φ
Z
Z¼0¼jAj2
τ;Φ
Z
Z−∞ ¼0ð2Þ
for the normalized amplitude envelope Aðτ;ξÞand the
envelope of the self-induced velocity potential Φðτ;ZÞin
the moving frame.
Here the scaled dimensionless variables ξ,τ, and Zare
related to the propagation coordinate x, the time t, and the
vertical coordinate zby ξε2k0x,τεω0ðx=cgtÞ, and
Zεk0z. The carrier wave number k0and the angular
carrier frequency ω0satisfy the deep-water dispersion
relation ω2
0¼k0g, with gbeing the gravitational acce-
leration, and define the group velocity cgω0=2k0.
Moreover, Φϕ=ðω0a2
0Þdenotes the dimensionless velo-
city potential.
We recall that for moderate nonlinearites, Eq. (1) reduces
to a nonlinear Schrödinger equation [30]
iA
ξ¼2A
τ2þjAj2Að3Þ
for which a general Akhmediev solution of the cubic
NLSE, expressed in terms of the Jacobi elliptic functions
cn, sn, and dn is given [37] by
Aðτ;ξÞ¼καðτÞdnðκξ;1=κÞþi
ksnðκξ;1=κÞ
1αðτÞcnðκξ;1=κÞexpðiξÞ;ð4Þ
where αðτÞ¼ ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
½1=ð1þκÞ
pcnðffiffiffiffi
2κ
pτ;ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
½ðκ1Þ=2κ
pÞand
κ>1is a modification parameter [37].
The complex amplitude envelope AjAjexpðiφÞdeter-
mines the variation in time and space of the surface
elevation
ηðt; xÞa0Aðt; xÞcos ½k0xω0t;ð5Þ
including the carrier wave, where a0is the maximum
amplitude of the envelope.
For observing both the linear and nonlinear Talbot effect,
the wave maker at x¼0is prescribed to generate the
temporal multilobe periodic surface elevation in the form of
the Akhmediev wave
Aðτ;0Þ¼καðτÞ
1αðτÞð6Þ
with the period Δτ¼ð4=ffiffi
κ
pÞKðffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
½ðκ1Þ=2k
pÞ, where
KðmÞis the complete elliptic integral of the first kind [38].
Linear Talbot effect.First, we study the propagation
dynamics of water waves induced by this initial profile
Aðτ;0Þ, Eq. (6), in a linear regime, when the wave steepness
ε¼k0a0is low, ε<0.1. In this case the envelope Aðτ;ξÞ
obeys the equation [30,39]
iA
ξ¼2A
τ2ð7Þ
that is similar to the one-dimensional time-dependent
Schrödinger equation of a free particle. However, the roles
of time and space are interchanged.
We measure the elevation ηðt; xÞat 40 spatial locations
and 7200 temporal points (with an averaging of 10). In
Fig. 2we present the amplitude jAðt; xÞj observed (a) in our
setup together with the simulations (d) and (g) based on
Eq. (7) for ε¼0.026. We observe that the revival of the
periodic pattern occurs at xT¼ð4.08 0.10Þm, which
FIG. 1. Experimental setup for observing the linear and non-
linear Talbot effect with surface gravity water waves.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
214101-2
agrees with the corresponding simulations xTs¼4.12 m
and analytical calculation xTa¼4.05 m[40]. In addition,
the fractional Talbot effect having the period 1
2xTis also
observed around x¼ð1.90 0.10Þm.
Next, using the Hilbert transform [41,42], we extract the
phase k0xω0tþφðt; xÞof the surface elevation
η¼ηðt; xÞ. After removing the carrier phase k0xω0t,
the complete space-time profile of φðt; xÞis presented in
Fig. 3(a) together with the corresponding simulations,
shown in Figs. 3(d) and 3(g). Thus, we have successfully
observed the linear Talbot effect for both the amplitude and
the phase.
Nonlinear Talbot effect.We further study the Talbot
effect in the nonlinear regime. For this purpose, the wave
maker at x¼0is again prescribed to generate the temporal
multilobe periodic surface elevation given by Eq. (6) but
now with a relatively large steepness ε¼0.18 where
nonlinear effects come into play. The intensity distribution
of the solution with κ¼2is displayed in Fig. 2(b)
alongside the theoretical results, predicted by Eq. (1),
shown in Fig. 2(e). We observe that the solution exhibits
the self-imaging Talbot carpet which appears at Talbot
distances, and it is π-phase shifted. The wave dynamics for
ε¼0.18 is governed by the nonlinear response. The
solution corresponds to the eigenmode of NLSE, given
by Eq. (4) and it propagates in a nonlinear medium. We
experimentally observe that for such nonlinear waves, the
fractional revivals, which are clearly seen in Figs. 2(a),2(d),
and 2(g) are absent, as was recently predicted in a
theoretical study [27]. However, one can see that even at
intermediate nonlinearities, the analytical solution based on
Eq. (3), which is shown in Fig. 2(h) does not describe
accurately the experimental result shown in 2(b), whereas
the simulation based on Eq. (1) in Fig. 2(e) yields a more
x[m]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
0.0
0.5
1.5
1.0
(a)
0
2
8
6
(b)
0
3
6
9
A[mm]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
(c)
x[m]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
0.0
0.5
1.5
1.0
(d)
0
2
8
6
(e)
0
3
6
9
A[mm]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
(f)
x[m]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
0.0
0.5
1.5
1.0
(g)
0
2
8
6
(h)
0
3
6
9
A[mm]
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10
1
4
2
(i)
t-x/cg[s]
t-x/cg[s]t-x/cg[s]
FIG. 2. Space-time profile of the envelope amplitude Aðt; xÞinduced by the Akhmediev wave, Eq. (6), with κ¼2for linear, nonlinear,
and highly nonlinear waves. (a) a0¼1.5mm and ω0¼13 ½rad=s(ε¼0.026). (b) a0¼8mm and ω0¼15 ½rad=s(ε¼0.18).
(c) a0¼9mm and ω0¼17 ½rad=s(ε¼0.265). The theoretical plots in (d)(f) are simulations based on Eq. (1) for the corresponding
parameters in (a)(c), i.e., steepness of ε¼0.026, 0.18, 0.265. (g) Simulation based on the linear Schrödinger equation, Eq. (7) for
ε¼0.026, (h) analytical plot for ε¼0.18 based on Eq. (4), (i) numerical plot for ε¼0.265 based on Eq. (3).
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
214101-3
accurate prediction. For instance, it indicates the uneven
gap in the formed dark canals at x¼2m. The mentioned
differences are further strengthened by observing the
longitudinal differences in the phase pattern with the
experimental result shown in Fig. 3(a). The simulation
based on Eq. (1) and shown in Fig. 3(b) predicts these
characteristics while the analytical result shown in Fig. 3(h)
has shorter longitudinal lobes.
Finally, we increase the wave steepness to ε¼0.265 and
study the evolution of periodic wave trains in this highly
nonlinear regime. As seen in Fig. 2(c), we observe extra-
ordinary behaviour of wave packets which has not been
reported before either theoretically or experimentally [27].
Namely, at half the Talbot distance, around x¼23m the
envelope wave amplitude Aðt; xÞbreaks asymmetrically
and new canals are formed. In that particular region, each
lobe slightly self-accelerates and each new emerging lobe
slightly decelerates back to the same group velocity as the
lobes found at the origin. The fractional disappearance and
revivals, observed in Fig. 2(a) for low steepness, are absent,
as depicted in Fig. 2(b). Instead, we observe a continuous
shift of the wave crests by half of the period. These results
are successfully verified by solving Eqs. (1) and (2)
numerically, as shown in Fig. 2(f), and compared to the
numerical solution of the third-order nonlinear Schrödinger
equation, that is Eq. (3) [27], shown in Fig. 2(i). Thus,
Eqs. (1) and (2), which include high-order terms pro-
portional to ε, describe accurately the dynamics of the
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10
t-x/c [s]
g
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
t-x/c [s]
g
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
t-x/c [s]
g
[rad]
π/2
-π/2
0
π/4
-π/4
1
4
2
-10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10
x[m]
x[m]
x[m]
(a) (b) (c)
)f()e()d(
)i()h()g(
FIG. 3. Space-time profile of the envelope phase φðt; xÞinduced by the Akhmediev wave, Eq. (6), with κ¼2for linear, nonlinear, and
highly nonlinear waves. (a) a0¼1.5mm and ω0¼13 ½rad=s(ε¼0.026). (b) a0¼8mm and ω0¼15 ½rad=s(ε¼0.18).
(c) a0¼9mm and ω0¼17 ½rad=s(ε¼0.265). The theoretical plots in (d)(f) are simulations based on Eq. (1) for the corresponding
parameters in (a)(c), i.e., steepness of ε¼0.026, 0.18, 0.265. (g) Simulation based on the linear Schrödinger equation, Eq. (7) for
ε¼0.026, (h) analytical plot for ε¼0.18 based on Eq. (4), (i) numerical plot for ε¼0.265 based on Eq. (3).
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
214101-4
envelope amplitude Aðt; xÞin the nonlinear regime, in
particular the Talbot effect. These asymmetric properties
are also observed in the phase in Fig. 3(c) and are modeled
numerically in 3(f) by solving Eqs. (1) and (2).
In conclusion, we have studied and observed the linear
and nonlinear Talbot effect for both the amplitude and the
phase of surface gravity water waves originating from the
Akhmediev wave. In addition, beyond the linear regime we
have observed the disappearance of the fractional revivals.
Finally, for even higher steepness of water waves, the
fractional Talbot effect (at x¼1.9m) is absent and a self-
accelerating pattern of the wave crest is observed, in
contrast to the familiar disappearance and revival pattern
in the linear case. We also emphasize that our experimental
setup is not limited to freely propagating waves and it is
possible to study this phenomena in the presence of a linear
potential [30,31].
We anticipate that the evolution of periodic patterns that
we observed here should occur for other types of waves,
e.g., optical waves, where at low intensity they will exhibit
revivals at integer and fractional Talbot distances, followed
by the disappearance of the higher periodic structures at
fractional distances for a Kerr nonlinear medium, and
finally deviations from the Akhemediev breather solution
when higher order nonlinear terms come into play.
We thank Maxim A. Efremov, Matthias Zimmermann,
and Anatoliy Khait for fruitful discussions help and
support, and Tamir Ilan for technical support and advice.
We also thank the CLEO-2021 conference where we first
presented the results that led to this Letter [43]. This work is
supported by DIP, the German-Israeli Project Cooperation
(AR 924/1-1, DU 1086/2-1) supported by the DFG, the
Israel Science Foundation (Grants No. 1415/17, No. 508/
19). W. P. S. is grateful to Texas A&M University for a
Faculty Fellowship at the Hagler Institute for Advanced
Study at the Texas A&M University as well as to the Texas
A&M AgriLife Research. The research of the IQST is
financially supported by the Ministry of Science, Research
and Arts Baden-Württemberg.
[1] H. F. Talbot, Philos. Mag. 9, 401 (1836).
[2] L. Rayleigh, Philos. Mag. 11, 196 (1881).
[3] M. Berry and S. Klein, J. Mod. Opt. 43, 2139 (1996).
[4] J. Wen, Y. Zhang, and M. Xiao, Adv. Opt. Photonics 5,83
(2013).
[5] L. Deng, E. W. Hagley, J. Denschlag, J. E. Simsarian, M.
Edwards, Ch. W. Clark, K. Helmerson, S. L. Rolston, and
W. D. Phillips, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 5407 (1999).
[6] J. Ruostekoski, B. Kneer, W. P. Schleich, and G. Rempe,
Phys. Rev. A 63, 043613 (2001).
[7] S. Nowak, Ch. Kurtsiefer, T. Pfau, and C. David, Opt. Lett.
22, 1430 (1997).
[8] A. E. Kaplan, I. Marzoli, W. E. Lamb, Jr., and W. P.
Schleich, Phys. Rev. A 61, 032101 (2000).
[9] M. R. Barros, A. Ketterer, O. J. Farias, and S. P. Walborn,
Phys. Rev. A 95, 042311 (2017).
[10] X. B. Song, H. B. Wang, J. Xiong, K. Wang, X. Zhang,
K. H. Luo, and L. A. Wu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 033902
(2011).
[11] O. J. Farias, F. deMelo, P. Milman, and S. P. Walborn, Phys.
Rev. A 91, 062328 (2015).
[12] J. Banerji, Contemp. Phys. 48, 157 (2007).
[13] A. Stibor, A. Stefanov, F. Goldfarb, E. Reiger, and M. Arndt,
New J. Phys. 7, 224 (2005).
[14] K. I. Oskolkov, Banach Cent. Pub. 72, 189 (2006).
[15] W. Loinaz and T. J. Newman, J. Phys. A 32, 8889 (1999).
[16] D. M. Meekhof, C. Monroe, B. E. King, W. M. Itano, and
D. J. Wineland, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1796 (1996).
[17] J. Parker and C. R. Stroud, Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 716 (1986).
[18] K. Leo, J. Shah, E. O. Göbel, T. C. Damen, S. Schmitt-Rink,
W. Schäfer, and K. Köhler, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 201 (1991).
[19] M. V. Berry, I. Marzoli, and W. P. Schleich, Phys. World 14,
39 (2001).
[20] F. Saif and M. Fortunato, Phys. Rev. A 65, 013401
(2001).
[21] P. Kazemi, S. Chaturvedi, I. Marzoli, R. F. OConnell, and
W. P. Schleich, New J. Phys. 15, 013052 (2013).
[22] N. Akhmediev, V. Eleonskii, and N. Kulagin, Theor. Math.
Phys. 72, 809 (1987).
[23] A. Chabchoub, B. Kibler, C. Finot G. Millot, M. Onorato, J.
Dudley, and A. V. Babanin, Ann. Phys. (Amsterdam) 361,
490 (2015).
[24] J. Dudley, F. Dias, F. Erkintalo, M. Erkintalo, and G. Genty,
Nat. Photonics, 8, 755 (2014).
[25] R. Schiek, Opt. Express 29, 15830 (2021).
[26] In Ref. [25] the emphasis was on the optical cubic non-
linearity, hence asymmetry breaking that is observed in the
present Letter and which originates from other nonlinear
terms in the Dysthe equations was not studied. Furthermore,
Ref. [25] reports on measurements of the output plane as a
function of the beam intensity, whereas we have followed
the wave dynamics in both time and space, for several values
of steepness and have measured the global phase.
[27] Y. Zhang, M. R. Belic, H. Zheng, H. Chen, C. Li, J. Song,
and Y. Zhang, Phys. Rev. E 89, 032902 (2014).
[28] S. Fu, Y. Tsur, J. Zhou, L. Shemer, and A. Arie, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 115, 034501 (2015).
[29] S. Fu, Y. Tsur, J. Zhou, L. Shemer, and A. Arie, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 115, 254501 (2015).
[30] G. G. Rozenman, S. Fu, A. Arie, and L. Shemer,
MDPI-Fluids 4, 96 (2019), https://www.mdpi.com/2311-
5521/4/2/96.
[31] G. G. Rozenman, M. Zimmermann, M. A. Efremov, W. P.
Schleich, L. Shemer, and A. Arie, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122,
124302 (2019).
[32] L. Shemer and B. Dorfman, Nonlinear Processes Geophys.
15, 931 (2008).
[33] D. Weisman, C. M. Carmesin, G. G. Rozenman, M. A.
Efremov, L. Shemer, W. P. Schleich, and A. Arie, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 127, 014303 (2021).
[34] M. R. Gonçalves, G. G. Rozenman, M. Zimmermann, M. A.
Efremov, W. B. Case, A. Arie, L. Shemer, and W. P.
Schleich, Appl. Phys. B 128, 51 (2022).
[35] K. B. Dysthe, Proc. R. Soc. A 369, 105 (1979).
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
214101-5
[36] G. G. Rozenman, L. Shemer, and A. Arie, Phys. Rev. E 101,
050201 (2020).
[37] N. Akhmediev, V. Eleonskii, and N. Kulagin, Theor. Math.
Phys. 72, 809 (1987).
[38] M. Abramowitz and I. A. Stegun, Handbook of
Mathematical Functions (Dover, New York, 1970).
[39] C. C. Mei, The Applied Dynamics of Ocean Surface Waves
(Wiley-Interscience, Singapore, 1983).
[40] The exact expression derived by Lord Rayleigh for the
primary image of the optical Talbot distance is zT¼
λ=ð1ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1λ2=a2
pÞ. In surface gravity waves this distance
is given in temporal units by tT¼T=ð1ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1T2=Δt2
pÞ,
where Tis the period of the carrier wave and Δtis the period
between envelope lobes. Hence, the Talbot distance for the
secondary image mentioned in this Letter is given by
xT¼1
2cgtT, where cgis the group velocity.
[41] F. W. King, Hilbert Transforms (Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, England, 2009), Vol. 1.
[42] MATLAB Hilbert Transform package (https://www
.mathworks.com/help/signal/ug/hilbert-transform.html).
[43] G. G. Rozenman, L. Shemer, M. Zimmermann, M. Efremov,
W. Schleich, and A. Arie, Proceedings of the Conference
on Lasers and Electro-Optics (Optica Publishing Group,
2021), paper FM3I.5.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 128, 214101 (2022)
214101-6
... In this case, the nonlinear effect has a negligible impact on Talbot lasers due to the relatively low pulse intensity. Apart from these linear cases, Talbot phenomena also appear in nonlinear systems (21)(22)(23). Periodic rogue waves exhibit recurrent behavior in a cubic nonlinear medium, which arises from the transverse modulation instability and the nonlinear interference of Akhmediev breathers (22). ...
... Nevertheless, for pulses or beams with higher intensity, the situation becomes much more complex, as the nonlinearity cannot be ignored for the Talbot effect. For example, the self-imaging distance of periodic rogue waves increases with the pulse intensity (22,48), and the fractional image disappears for wave trains in surface gravity water under the nonlinear case (23). ...
... However, the Talbot length in our work relies on the phase difference between neighboring spectra, encompassing both the linear and nonlinear parts. Since the nonlinear effects also contribute to the self-imaging condition, the refined Talbot theory may provide a more comprehensive interpretation of the recent reports on the recurrent behavior of periodic rogue waves in nonlinear medium (22,23,48). ...
Article
Full-text available
Talbot effect, characterized by the replication of a periodic optical field in a specific plane, is governed by diffraction and dispersion in the spatial and temporal domains, respectively. In mode-locked lasers, Talbot effect is rarely linked with soliton dynamics since the longitudinal mode spacing and cavity dispersion are far away from the self-imaging condition. We report switchable breathing and stable dissipative Talbot solitons in a multicolor mode-locked fiber laser by manipulating the frequency difference of neighboring spectra. The temporal Talbot effect dominates the laser emission state—in the breathing state when the integer self-imaging distance deviates from the cavity length and in the steady state when it equals the cavity length. A refined Talbot theory including dispersion and nonlinearity is proposed to accurately depict this evolution behavior. These findings pave an effective way to control the operation in dissipative optical systems and open branches in the study of nonlinear physics.
... At the same time, the capabilities of modern computers do not allow checking the reliability of the obtained numerical results for multidimensional problems, using, for example, the mesh thickening method. Verification is carried out in most cases through comparison with the available experimental results, as, for example, in [5,6], where the periodic wave trains are observed by utilizing surface gravity water wave packets, or are just based on experience. Analytical studies of the solution's existence, and what is more important obtaining its mathematically justified approximation are essential to verify the numerical results. ...
... The paper studies at what ratio of control parameters account for the production and degradation of extracellular cAMP, respectively, the boundary-induced instability occurs. In [5], the periodic wave trains are described by means of the spatial version of the Dysthe equations for the normalized amplitude envelope and the envelope of the self-induced velocity potential. In [6], the numerical simulations of the solution of the reaction-diffusion-advection system of equations is used to describe the thermalization effects on plug flow reactor fuel conversion. ...
... and then to the equation ∂Φ/∂ṽ = A(ṽ, x) − W determining the trajectories on the phase plain (ṽ, Φ). Each of the points ϕ (∓) (x), 0 on the phase plane is a rest point of system (5). Let us consider the phase trajectories ...
Article
Full-text available
We consider the initial-boundary value problem of reaction-diffusion-advection that has a solution of a front form. The statement comes from the theory of wave physics. We study the question of the solution stabilizing to the stationary one. Proof of the stabilization theorem is based on the concepts of upper and lower solutions and corollaries from comparison theorems. The upper and lower solutions with large gradients are constructed as modifications of the formal moving front asymptotic approximation in a small parameter. The main idea of the proof is to show that the upper and lower solutions of the initial-boundary value problem get into the attraction domain of the asymptotically stable stationary solution on a sufficiently large time interval. The study conducted in this work gives an answer about the non-local attraction domain of the stationary solution and can give some stationing criteria. The results are illustrated by computational examples.
... Indeed, the scaled dimensionless variables ξ and τ are related to the propagation coordinate x and the time t by ξ ≡ ε 2 k 0 x and τ ≡ εω 0 (x/c g − t). The parameter ε ≡ k 0 a 0 characterizing the wave steepness is assumed to be small, that is ε 1, in order to ensure [28,37] the linearity of the wave equation. We note that the elevation of the surface gravity water wave is real, and connected to the complex envelope A by being its real part via the concept of an analytical signal. ...
... The amplitude is a 0 = 4 mm and thus, the corresponding steepness ε < 0.1 guarantees the validity of the linear Schrödinger equation. For an analysis of and experiments with nonlinear surface gravity water waves, we refer to [28,37]. ...
Article
Full-text available
We report on a three-slit experiment in the presence of a linear potential with surface gravity water waves. For these classical waves, we reconstruct the Bohm trajectories as well as the corresponding quantum potentials.
... Nonlinear phenomena have occurred in magnetism, optics, fluid mechanics, plasma physics and other fields [6][7][8][9]. Nonlinear evolution equations have been developed to characterize the localized waves such as the solitons, breathers and rogue waves [10][11][12][13][14]. ...
... To derive the breather solutions of System (1), we set c 1 = c 2 = 1, θ (δ) = 0 and λ = λ 2 + δ 2 = iγ + δ 2 in Expression (12). Expanding the eigenfunction Θ (δ 2 ) as the Taylor series at δ = 0, we have ...
Preprint
Full-text available
In this paper, we focus on a complex Kraenkel-Manna-Merle system, which could characterize certain short waves in a ferrite. On the basis of the existing N-fold Darboux transformation, we have determined a generalized (m, N − m)-fold Darboux transformation which admits m spectral parameters, with N and m being the positive integers. Rogue-wave, breather and mixed wave solutions of that system are derived utilizing the generalized (m, N − m)-fold Darboux transformation. We show the first-order rogue wave with one hump and two valleys, as well as the first-order rogue wave with one hump and one valley. We obtain the second-order rogue wave and also show that the second-order rogue wave divides into three first-order rogue waves which are arranged in the triangle structure. We present the third-order rogue wave and observe that the third-order rogue wave divides into six first-order rogue waves which are arranged in the triangle and pentagonal structures. The first-order breather and interaction between the two first-order breathers are illustrated. In addition, we present the interactions between the first-order/second-order rogue wave and first-order breather.
... As a matter of fact, owing to these three unique properties, optical solitons are widely considered to be ideal candidates for low-loss or lossless nonlinear light propagation in modern optics communications [4,5]. It is relevant to point out that solitons are one of the ubiquitous nonlinear emergent phenomena in nonlinear physical systems and beyond [6][7][8][9][10]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In past years, optical lattices have been demonstrated as an excellent platform for making, understanding, and controlling quantum matters at nonlinear and fundamental quantum levels. Shrinking experimental observations include matter-wave gap solitons created in ultracold quantum degenerate gases, such as Bose–Einstein condensates with repulsive interaction. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically study the formation of one-dimensional gap soliton molecules and clusters in ultracold coherent atom ensembles under electromagnetically induced transparency conditions and trapped by an optical lattice. In numerics, both linear stability analysis and direct perturbed simulations are combined to identify the stability and instability of the localized gap modes, stressing the wide stability region within the first finite gap. The results predicted here may be confirmed in ultracold atom experiments, providing detailed insight into the higher-order localized gap modes of ultracold bosonic atoms under the quantum coherent effect called electromagnetically induced transparency.
... Localized waves on the plane-wave backgrounds, such as the Akhmediev breathers, Peregrine rogue waves and Kuznetsov-Ma breathers, have piqued the interest of researchers [25][26][27]. Breathers have been crucial in the generation of rogue waves, development of modulation instability, and dynamics and statistics of complex nonlinear random wave states [28]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this paper, we concentrate on the higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger-Maxwell-Bloch system with the sextic terms, which could characterize the ultra-short optical pulses in an erbium-doped fiber. Proceeding from the existing Lax pair and one-fold Darboux transformation (DT), we build an N-fold generalized DT with one spectral parameter by means of the limit procedure, and on this basis determine the Nth-order solutions of that system. The second- and third-order degenerate solitons are shown through the second-order and third-order solutions, respectively, and we also present the second-order degenerate breather through the second-order solutions. We obtain the eye-shaped rogue wave involving one hump and two valleys, rogue wave involving four valleys, as well as four-petaled rogue wave involving two humps and two valleys via the first-order solutions. Using the second-order solutions, we obtain the interaction between the two first-order rogue waves and show that the second-order rogue wave divides into three first-order rogue waves which are arranged in the triangle structure. Modifying that generalized DT, we work out the second-order and third-order mixed wave solutions, and then show the interactions between the first-order/second-order rogue wave and first-order breather.
... We will only consider the interaction of frozen periodic patterns with planewaves in nonlinear materials. Nonlinear interactions of non-frozen periodic patterns and more complex manipulations of the pump beams will have interesting effects but will not be considered in this study [18][19][20]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this article, we show that quasi-phase matching can be accomplished by manipulating one of the pump beams without any periodic poling. We analyze a simple case wherein one of the interacting beams has a periodic pattern, and the others are assumed to be planewaves. We present comparisons of the efficiency of some nonlinear processes with quasi-phase matching achieved through our method and the conventional method. We demonstrate that some patterns of the pump beam can be more efficient than conventional periodic poling.
... In recent studies, it was found that chaos can be observed through the collision of multiple objects. By means of theoretical and experimental studies on the propogation of wave function in a medium [7][8][9][10][11], it has been discovered that a unique optical phenomenon, known as optical soliton [12], is produced when there is a balance between the diffraction and self-focusing of a Gaussian beam. According to numerical study, the solitons of the GrossPitaevskii equation or the Lorenz-Haken equation exhibit chaos after a three-soliton collision [13]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the study of the evolution of Gaussian beam in saturated nonlinear media, it is found that the probability of optical rogue waves changes with the change of nonlinearity. The light intensity distribution on the exit surface of nonlinear medium can be characterized by scintillation index, and the change of rogue wave corresponds to the evolution of scintillation index. The rogue wave probability shows a complex trend with the evolution of nonlinearity. The Lyapunov exponent and power spectrum method are used to determine that the probability of rogue wave is chaotic with nonlinear evolution.
Article
In coupled identical oscillators, complete synchronization has been well formulated; however, partial synchronization still calls for a general theory. In this work, we study the partial synchronization in a ring of N locally coupled identical oscillators. We first establish the correspondence between partially synchronous states and conjugacy classes of subgroups of the dihedral group DN. Then we present a systematic method to identify all partially synchronous dynamics on their synchronous manifolds by reducing a ring of oscillators to short chains with various boundary conditions. We find that partially synchronous states are organized into a hierarchical structure and, along a directed path in the structure, upstream partially synchronous states are less synchronous than downstream ones.
Article
Full-text available
A leading nonlinear effect in magnonics is the interaction that splits a high-frequency magnon into two low-frequency magnons with conserved linear momentum. Here, we report experimental observation of nonlocal three-magnon scattering between spatially separated magnetic systems, viz. a CoFeB nanowire and a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin film. Above a certain threshold power of an applied microwave field, a CoFeB Kittel magnon splits into a pair of counterpropagating YIG magnons that induce voltage signals in Pt electrodes on each side, in excellent agreement with model calculations based on the interlayer dipolar interaction. The excited YIG magnon pairs reside mainly in the first excited (n=1) perpendicular standing spin-wave mode. With increasing power, the n=1 magnons successively scatter into nodeless (n=0) magnons through a four-magnon process. Our results demonstrate nonlocal detection of two separately propagating magnons emerging from one common source that may enable quantum entanglement between distant magnons for quantum information applications.
Article
Full-text available
We investigate bright and dark diffractive focusing emerging in the free propagation of specific wave profiles. These general wave phenomena manifest themselves in matter, water, and classical waves. In this article, we lay the foundations for these effects and illustrate their origin in Wigner phase space. Our theoretical studies are supported by experimental demonstrations of dark focusing in water waves. Moreover, by using different phase slits we analyze several aspects of bright and dark focusing for classical and matter waves.
Article
Full-text available
We show that in order to guide waves, it is sufficient to periodically truncate their edges. The modes supported by this type of wave guide propagate freely between the slits, and the propagation pattern repeats itself. We experimentally demonstrate this general wave phenomenon for two types of waves: (i) plasmonic waves propagating on a metal-air interface that are periodically blocked by nanometric metallic walls, and (ii) surface gravity water waves whose evolution is recorded, the packet is truncated, and generated again to show repeated patterns. This guiding concept is applicable for a wide variety of waves.
Article
Full-text available
The smooth transition between stable, Talbot-effect-dominated and modulationally unstable nonlinear optical beam propagation is described as the superposition of oscillating, growing and decaying eigenmodes of the common linearized theory of modulation instability. The saturation of the instability in form of breather maxima is embedded between eigenmode growth and decay. This explains well the changes of beam characteristics when the input intensity increases in experiments on modulation instability and breather excitation in spatial-spatial experimental platforms. An increased accuracy of instability gain measurements, a variety of interesting nonlinear beam scenarios and a more selective and well-directed breather excitation are demonstrated experimentally.
Article
Full-text available
We study theoretically and observe experimentally the evolution of solitary surface gravity water wavepackets propagating in homogeneous and time-dependent flow created by a computer-controlled water pump, resulting in an effective linear potential. Unlike a potential free soliton, in this case the wavepacket envelope accelerates, while its phase is proportional to the cubic power of the position in the water tank. For increased wave steepness, we observe the emergence of asymmetry in the envelope, and hence it no longer retains its soliton shape. Furthermore, we study a case of ballistic dynamics of solitary surface gravity water wavepackets with initial nonzero momentum and demonstrate that their trajectory is similar to that of a projectile pulled by gravity. Nevertheless, their envelope shape is preserved during propagation, and the envelope phase is identical to that measured without an initial momentum.
Article
Full-text available
We present the theoretical models and review the most recent results of a class of experiments in the field of surface gravity waves. These experiments serve as demonstration of an analogy to a broad variety of phenomena in optics and quantum mechanics. In particular, experiments involving Airy water-wave packets were carried out. The Airy wave packets have attracted tremendous attention in optics and quantum mechanics owing to their unique properties, spanning from an ability to propagate along parabolic trajectories without spreading, and to accumulating a phase that scales with the cubic power of time. Non-dispersive Cosine-Gauss wave packets and self-similar Hermite-Gauss wave packets, also well known in the field of optics and quantum mechanics, were recently studied using surface gravity waves as well. These wave packets demonstrated self-healing properties in water wave pulses as well, preserving their width despite being dispersive. Finally, this new approach also allows to observe diffractive focusing from a temporal slit with finite width.
Article
Full-text available
We theoretically study and successfully observe the evolution of Gaussian and Airy surface gravity water wave packets propagating in an effective linear potential. This potential results from a homogeneous and time-dependent flow created by a computer-controlled water pump. For both wave packets we measure the amplitudes and the cubic phases appearing due to the linear potential. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the self-acceleration of the Airy surface gravity water wave packets can be completely canceled by a linear potential.
Article
Full-text available
Linear gravity water waves are highly dispersive; therefore, the spreading of initially short wave trains characterizes water surface waves, and is a universal property of a dispersive medium. Only if there is sufficient nonlinearity does this envelope admit solitary solutions which do not spread and remain in fixed forms. Here, in contrast to the nonlinear localized wave packets, we present both theoretically and experimentally a new type of linearly nondispersive water wave, having a cosine-Gauss envelope, as well as its higher-order Hermite cosine-Gauss variations. We show that these waves preserve their width despite the inherent dispersion while propagating in an 18-m wave tank, accompanied by a slowly varying carrier-envelope phase. These wave packets exhibit self-healing; i.e., they are restored after bypassing an obstacle. We further demonstrate that these nondispersive waves are robust to weakly nonlinear perturbations. In the strong nonlinear regime, symmetry breaking of these waves is observed, but their cosine-Gauss shapes are still approximately preserved during propagation.
Article
The Talbot effect in quantum physics is known to produce intricate patterns in the probability distribution of a particle, known as "quantum carpets", corresponding to the revival and replication of the initial wave function. Recently, it was shown that one can encode a $D$-level qudit, in such a way that the Talbot effect can be used to process the $D$-dimensional quantum information [Far\'{\i}as et al, PRA (2015)]. Here we introduce a scheme to produce free-propagating "entangled quantum carpets" with pairs of photons produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion. First we introduce an optical device that can be used to synthesize arbitrary superposition states of Talbot qudits. Sending spatially entangled photon pairs through a pair of these devices produces an entangled pair of qudits. As an application, we show how the Talbot effect can be used to test a $D$-dimensional Bell inequality. Numerical simulations show that violation of the Bell inequality depends strongly on the amount of spatial correlation in the initial two-photon state. We briefly discuss how our optical scheme might be adapted to matter wave experiments.
Article
It is 200 years since Thomas Young performed his famous double-slit experiment but the interference of waves that weave rich tapestries in space and space-time. continues to provide deep insights into geometrical optics and semi-classical limits.