PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B A Malomed

Publications and source records attributed to B A Malomed.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Stable three-dimensional optical solitons supported by competing quadratic and self-focusing cubic nonlinearities.

We show that the quadratic (chi(2)) interaction of fundamental and second harmonics in a bulk dispersive medium, combined with self-focusing cubic (chi(3)) nonlinearity, give rise to stable three-dimensional spatiotemporal solitons (STSs), despite the possibility of the supercritical collapse, induced by the chi(3) nonlinearity. At exact phase matching (beta = 0) , the STSs are stable for energies from zero up to a certain maximum value, while for beta not equal 0 the solitons are stable in energy intervals between finite limits.

Journal Article↗

Discrete solitons and vortices in the two-dimensional Salerno model with competing nonlinearities.

An anisotropic lattice model in two spatial dimensions, with on-site and intersite cubic nonlinearities (the Salerno model), is introduced, with emphasis on the case in which the intersite nonlinearity is self-defocusing, competing with on-site self-focusing. The model applies, for example, to a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a deep two-dimensional (2D) optical lattice. Soliton families of two kinds are found in the model: ordinary ones and cuspons, with peakons at the border between them. Stability borders for the ordinary solitons are found, while all cuspons (and peakons) are stable. The Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion does not apply to cuspons, but for the ordinary solitons it correctly identifies the stability limits. In direct simulations, unstable solitons evolve into localized pulsons. Varying the anisotropy parameter, we trace a transition between the solitons in 1D and 2D versions of the model. In the isotropic model, we also construct discrete vortices of two types, on-site and intersite centered (vortex crosses and squares, respectively), and identify their stability regions. In simulations, unstable vortices in the noncompeting model transform into regular solitons, while in the model with the competing nonlinearities they evolve into localized vortical pulsons, which maintain their topological character. Bound states of regular solitons and vortices are constructed too, and their stability is identified.

Journal Article↗

Discrete vector solitons in one-dimensional lattices in photorefractive media.

We construct families of two-component spatial solitons in a one-dimensional lattice with saturable on-site nonlinearity (focusing or defocusing) in a photorefractive crystal. We identify 14 species of vector solitons, depending on their type (bright/dark), phase (in-phase/staggered), and location on the lattice (on/off-site). Two species of the bright/bright type form entirely stable soliton families, four species are partially stable (depending on the value of the propagation constant), while the remaining eight species are completely unstable. "Symbiotic" soliton pairs (of the bright/dark type), which contain components that cannot exist in isolation in the same model, are found as well.

Journal Article↗

Stable vortex tori in the three-dimensional cubic-quintic Ginzburg-Landau equation.

We demonstrate the existence of stable toroidal dissipative solitons with the inner phase field in the form of rotating spirals, corresponding to vorticity S=0, 1, and 2, in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity. The stable solitons easily self-trap from pulses with embedded vorticity. The stability is corroborated by accurate computation of growth rates for perturbation eigenmodes. The results provide the first example of stable vortex tori in a 3D dissipative medium, as well as the first example of higher-order tori (with S=2) in any nonlinear medium. It is found that all stable vortical solitons coexist in a large domain of the parameter space; in smaller regions, there coexist stable solitons with either S=0 and S=1, or S=1 and S=2.

Journal Article↗

Solitons in the Salerno model with competing nonlinearities.

We consider a lattice equation (Salerno model) combining onsite self-focusing and intersite self-defocusing cubic terms, which may describe a Bose-Einstein condensate of dipolar atoms trapped in a strong periodic potential. In the continuum approximation, the model gives rise to solitons in a finite band of frequencies, with sechlike solitons near one edge, and an exact peakon solution at the other. A similar family of solitons is found in the discrete system, including a peakon; beyond the peakon, the family continues in the form of cuspons. Stability of the lattice solitons is explored through computation of eigenvalues for small perturbations, and by direct simulations. A small part of the family is unstable (in that case, the discrete solitons transform into robust pulsonic excitations); both peakons and cuspons are stable. The Vakhitov-Kolokolov criterion precisely explains the stability of regular solitons and peakons, but does not apply to cuspons. In-phase and out-of-phase bound states of solitons are also constructed. They exchange their stability at a point where the bound solitons are peakons. Mobile solitons, composed of a moving core and background, exist up to a critical value of the strength of the self-defocusing intersite nonlinearity. Colliding solitons always merge into a single pulse.

Journal Article↗

Three-dimensional spatiotemporal optical solitons in nonlocal nonlinear media.

We demonstrate the existence of stable three-dimensional spatiotemporal solitons (STSs) in media with a nonlocal cubic nonlinearity. Fundamental (nonspinning) STSs forming one-parameter families are stable if their propagation constant exceeds a certain critical value that is inversely proportional to the range of nonlocality of nonlinear response. All spinning three-dimensional STSs are found to be unstable.

Journal Article↗

Moving embedded lattice solitons.

It was recently proved that solitons embedded in the spectrum of linear waves may exist in discrete systems, and explicit solutions for isolated unstable embedded lattice solitons (ELS) of a differential-difference version of a higher-order nonlinear Schrodinger equation were found [Gonzalez-Perez-Sandi, Fujioka, and Malomed, Physica D 197, 86 (2004)]. The discovery of these ELS gives rise to relevant questions such as the following: (1) Are there continuous families of ELS? (2) Can ELS be stable? (3) Is it possible for ELS to move along the lattice? (4) How do ELS interact? The present work addresses these questions by showing that a novel equation (a discrete version of a complex modified Korteweg-de Vries equation that includes next-nearest-neighbor couplings) has a two-parameter continuous family of exact ELS. These solitons can move with arbitrary velocities across the lattice, and the numerical simulations demonstrate that these ELS are completely stable. Moreover, the numerical tests show that these ELS are robust enough to withstand collisions, and the result of a collision is only a shift in the positions of the solitons. The model may apply to the description of a Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms, trapped in a deep optical-lattice potential.

Journal Article↗

Vector solitons with an embedded domain wall.

We present a class of soliton solutions to a system of two coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations, with an intrinsic domain wall (DW) which separates regions occupied by two different fields. The model describes a binary mixture of two Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with interspecies repulsion. For the attractive or repulsive interactions inside each species, we find solutions which are bright or dark solitons in each component, while for the opposite signs of the intraspecies interaction, a bright-dark soliton pair is found (each time, with the intrinsic DW). These solutions can arise in the context of discrete lattices, and most of them can be supported in continuum settings by an external parabolic trap. The stability of the solitons with intrinsic DWs is examined, and the evolution of unstable ones is analyzed. We also briefly discuss the possibility of generating such families of solutions in the presence of linear coupling between the components, and an application of the model to bimodal light propagation in nonlinear optics.

Biophysics↗

Discrete solitons and vortices on anisotropic lattices.

We consider the effects of anisotropy on solitons of various types in two-dimensional nonlinear lattices, using the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation as a paradigm model. For fundamental solitons, we develop a variational approximation that predicts that broad quasicontinuum solitons are unstable, while their strongly anisotropic counterparts are stable. By means of numerical methods, it is found that, in the general case, the fundamental solitons and simplest on-site-centered vortex solitons ("vortex crosses") feature enhanced or reduced stability areas, depending on the strength of the anisotropy. More surprising is the effect of anisotropy on the so-called "super-symmetric" intersite-centered vortices ("vortex squares"), with the topological charge equal to the square's size : we predict in an analytical form by means of the Lyapunov-Schmidt theory, and confirm by numerical results, that arbitrarily weak anisotropy results in dramatic changes in the stability and dynamics in comparison with the degenerate, in this case, isotropic, limit.

Journal Article↗

Fully three dimensional breather solitons can be created using feshbach resonances.

We investigate the stability properties of breather solitons in a three-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate with Feshbach resonance management of the scattering length and confined only by a one-dimensional optical lattice. We compare regions of stability in parameter space obtained from a fully 3D analysis with those from a quasi-two-dimensional treatment. For moderate confinement we discover a new island of stability in the 3D case, not present in the quasi-2D treatment. Stable solutions from this region have non-trivial dynamics in the lattice direction; hence, they describe fully 3D breather solitons. We demonstrate these solutions in direct numerical simulations and outline a possible way of creating robust 3D solitons in experiments in a Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional lattice. We point out other possible applications.

Journal Article↗

Stable spatiotemporal solitons in bessel optical lattices.

We investigate the existence and stability of three-dimensional solitons supported by cylindrical Bessel lattices in self-focusing media. If the lattice strength exceeds a threshold value, we show numerically, and using the variational approximation, that the solitons are stable within one or two intervals of values of their norm. In the latter case, the Hamiltonian versus norm diagram has a swallowtail shape with three cuspidal points. The model applies to Bose-Einstein condensates and to optical media with saturable nonlinearity, suggesting new ways of making stable three-dimensional solitons and "light bullets" of an arbitrary size.

Journal Article↗

Three-dimensional nonlinear lattices: from oblique vortices and octupoles to discrete diamonds and vortex cubes.

We construct a variety of novel localized topological structures in the 3D discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The states can be created in Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in strong optical lattices and crystals built of microresonators. These new structures, most of which have no counterparts in lower dimensions, range from multipole patterns and diagonal vortices to vortex "cubes" (stack of two quasiplanar vortices) and "diamonds" (formed by two orthogonal vortices).

Journal Article↗

Necklacelike solitons in optically induced photonic lattices.

We report the first observation of stationary necklacelike solitons. Such necklace structures were realized when a high-order vortex beam was launched appropriately into a two-dimensional optically induced photonic lattice. Our theoretical results obtained with continuous and discrete models show that the necklace solitons resulting from a charge-4 vortex have a pi phase difference between adjacent "pearls" and are formed in an octagon shape. Their stability region is identified.

Journal Article↗

Parametric light bullets supported by quasi-phase-matched quadratically nonlinear crystals.

We present a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of three-dimensional spatiotemporal nonspinning and spinning solitons in quasi-phased-matched (QPM) gratings. By employing an averaging approach based on perturbation theory, we show that the soliton's stability is strongly affected by the QPM-induced third-order nonlinearity (which is always of a mixed type, with opposite signs in front of the corresponding self-phase and cross-phase modulation terms). We study the dependence of the stability of the spatiotemporal soliton (STS) on its energy, spin, the wave-vector mismatch between the fundamental and second harmonics, and the relative strength of the intrinsic quadratic and QPM-induced cubic nonlinearities. In particular, all the spinning solitons are unstable against fragmentation, while zero-spin STS's have their stability regions on the system's parameter space.

Journal Article↗

Two-dimensional solitons with hidden and explicit vorticity in bimodal cubic-quintic media.

We demonstrate that two-dimensional two-component bright solitons of an annular shape, carrying vorticities (m,+/-m) in the components, may be stable in media with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity, including the hidden-vorticity (HV) solitons of the type (m,-m) , whose net vorticity is zero. Stability regions for the vortices of both (m,+/-m) types are identified for m=1 , 2, and 3, by dint of the calculation of stability eigenvalues, and in direct simulations. In addition to the well-known symmetry-breaking (external) instability, which splits the ring soliton into a set of fragments flying away in tangential directions, we report two new scenarios of the development of weak instabilities specific to the HV solitons. One features charge flipping, with the two components exchanging angular momentum and periodically reversing the sign of their spins. The composite soliton does not directly split in this case; therefore, we identify such instability as an intrinsic one. Eventually, the soliton splits, as weak radiation loss drives it across the border of the ordinary strong (external) instability. Another scenario proceeds through separation of the vortex cores in the two components, each individual core moving toward the outer edge of the annular soliton. After expulsion of the cores, there remains a zero-vorticity breather with persistent internal vibrations.

Journal Article↗

Controlling the motion of dark solitons by means of periodic potentials: application to Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices.

We demonstrate that the motion of dark solitons (DSs) can be controlled by means of periodic potentials. The mechanism is realized in terms of cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates confined in a harmonic magnetic potential, in the presence of an optical lattice (OL). In the case when the OL period is comparable to the width of the DS, we demonstrate that (a) a moving dark soliton can be captured, switching on the OL, and (b) a stationary DS can be dragged by a moving OL.

Journal Article↗

Accumulation of embedded solitons in systems with quadratic nonlinearity.

Previous numerical studies have revealed the existence of embedded solitons (ESs) in a class of multiwave systems with quadratic nonlinearity, families of which seem to emerge from a critical point in the parameter space, where the zero solution has a fourfold zero eigenvalue. In this paper, the existence of such solutions is studied in a three-wave model. An appropriate rescaling casts the system in a normal form, which is universal for models supporting ESs through quadratic nonlinearities. The normal-form system contains a single irreducible parameter epsilon, and is tantamount to the basic model of type-I second-harmonic generation. An analytical approximation of Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin type yields an asymptotic formula for the distribution of discrete values of epsilon at which the ESs exist. Comparison with numerical results shows that the asymptotic formula yields an exact value of the scaling index, -65, and a fairly good approximation for the numerical factor in front of the scaling term.

Algorithms↗

Nonlinearity from geometric interactions: a case example.

We propose a ladder model wherein dynamical nonlinearity arises from geometry. It includes two strings of particles which are set along rigid rails of a "railroad" and coupled by linear springs. Physical realizations of the model include dust-particle strings in plasma sheaths and chains of microparticles trapped in a strong optical lattice. The transverse couplings between the strings, along with the motion constraint imposed by the rails, generate nonlinearity. It gives rise to robust solitary waves, which are found analytically in the long-wavelength limit, and are obtained in simulations of the full system.

Journal Article↗