title: Dark solitons in laser radiation build-up dynamics.
abstract: We reveal the existence of slowly decaying dark solitons in the radiation build-up dynamics of bright pulses in all-normal dispersion mode-locked fiber lasers, numerically modeled in the framework of a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The evolution of noise perturbations to quasistationary dark solitons is examined, and the significance of background shape and soliton-soliton collisions on the eventual soliton decay is established. We demonstrate the role of a restoring force in extending soliton interactions in conservative systems to include the effects of dissipation, as encountered in laser cavities, and generalize our observations to other nonlinear systems.
authors.affiliation: Femtosecond Optics Group, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.affiliation: Femtosecond Optics Group, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E J R
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kelleher