Soliton Molecules with Two Frequencies

Phys Rev Lett. 2019 Dec 13;123(24):243905. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.243905.

Abstract

We demonstrate a peculiar mechanism for the formation of bound states of light pulses of substantially different optical frequencies, in which pulses are strongly bound across a vast frequency gap. This is enabled by a propagation constant with two separate regions of anomalous dispersion. The resulting soliton compound exhibits moleculelike binding energy, vibration, and radiation and can be understood as a mutual trapping providing a striking analogy to quantum mechanics. The phenomenon constitutes an intriguing case of two light waves mutually affecting and controlling each other.