Single-shot observation of optical rogue waves in integrable turbulence using time microscopy

Pierre Suret (), Rebecca El Koussaifi, Alexey Tikan, Clément Evain, Stéphane Randoux, Christophe Szwaj and Serge Bielawski
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Pierre Suret: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Rebecca El Koussaifi: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Alexey Tikan: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Clément Evain: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Stéphane Randoux: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Christophe Szwaj: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille
Serge Bielawski: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Atomes et Molecules, UMR-CNRS 8523, Université de Lille

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Optical fibres are favourable tabletop laboratories to investigate both coherent and incoherent nonlinear waves. In particular, exact solutions of the one-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation such as fundamental solitons or solitons on finite background can be generated by launching periodic, specifically designed coherent waves in optical fibres. It is an open fundamental question to know whether these coherent structures can emerge from the nonlinear propagation of random waves. However the typical sub-picosecond timescale prevented—up to now—time-resolved observations of the awaited dynamics. Here, we report temporal ‘snapshots’ of random light using a specially designed ‘time-microscope’. Ultrafast structures having peak powers much larger than the average optical power are generated from the propagation of partially coherent waves in optical fibre and are recorded with 250 femtoseconds resolution. Our experiment demonstrates the central role played by ‘breather-like’ structures such as the Peregrine soliton in the emergence of heavy-tailed statistics in integrable turbulence.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13136

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