title: Stochasticity, periodicity and localized light structures in partially mode-locked fibre lasers.
abstract: Physical systems with co-existence and interplay of processes featuring distinct spatio-temporal scales are found in various research areas ranging from studies of brain activity to astrophysics. The complexity of such systems makes their theoretical and experimental analysis technically and conceptually challenging. Here, we discovered that while radiation of partially mode-locked fibre lasers is stochastic and intermittent on a short time scale, it exhibits non-trivial periodicity and long-scale correlations over slow evolution from one round-trip to another. A new technique for evolution mapping of intensity autocorrelation function has enabled us to reveal a variety of localized spatio-temporal structures and to experimentally study their symbiotic co-existence with stochastic radiation. Real-time characterization of dynamical spatio-temporal regimes of laser operation is set to bring new insights into rich underlying nonlinear physics of practical active- and passive-cavity photonic systems.
authors.affiliation: 1] Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK [2] Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia [3] Institute of Automation and Electrometry SB RAS, 1 Ac. Koptyug Avenue, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Churkin
authors.affiliation: Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugavanam
authors.affiliation: 1] Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK [2] Institute of Computational Technologies SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tarasov
authors.affiliation: 1] Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia [2] Zecotek Photonics, Inc., 1120-21331 Gordon Way, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada BC V6W 1J9.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khorev
authors.affiliation: Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Smirnov
authors.affiliation: Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kobtsev
authors.affiliation: 1] Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK [2] Novosibirsk State University, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Turitsyn