title: Self-similar evolution of parabolic pulses in a laser.
abstract: Self-similar propagation of ultrashort, parabolic pulses in a laser resonator is observed theoretically and experimentally. This constitutes a new type of pulse shaping in mode-locked lasers: in contrast to the well-known static (solitonlike) and breathing (dispersion-managed soliton) pulse evolutions, asymptotic solutions to the nonlinear wave equation that governs pulse propagation in most of the laser cavity are observed. Stable self-similar pulses exist with energies much greater than can be tolerated in solitonlike pulse shaping, and this has implications for practical lasers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Cornell University, 212 Clark Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. ilday@ccmr.cornell.edu
authors.forename: F O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Ilday
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Wise
mesh_terms: D007834:Lasers; D008962:Models, Theoretical