Velocity locking of incoherent nonlinear wave packets

We show both theoretically and experimentally in an optical fiber system that a set of incoherent nonlinear waves irreversibly evolves to a specific equilibrium state, in which the individual wave packets propagate with identical group velocities. This intriguing process of velocity locking can be e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2006-07, Vol.97 (3), p.033902-033902, Article 033902
Main Authors: Pitois, Stéphane, Lagrange, Silvère, Jauslin, Hans R, Picozzi, Antonio
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We show both theoretically and experimentally in an optical fiber system that a set of incoherent nonlinear waves irreversibly evolves to a specific equilibrium state, in which the individual wave packets propagate with identical group velocities. This intriguing process of velocity locking can be explained in detail by simple thermodynamic arguments based on the kinetic wave theory. Accordingly, the selection of the velocity-locked state is shown to result from the natural tendency of the isolated wave system to approach the state that maximizes the nonequilibrium entropy.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.033902