On homoclinic snaking in optical systems.

The existence of localized structures, including so-called cavity solitons, in driven optical systems is discussed. In theory, they should exist only below the threshold of a subcritical modulational instability, but in experiment they often appear spontaneously on parameter variation. The addition of a nonlocal nonlinearity may resolve this discrepancy by tilting the "snaking" bifurcation diagram characteristic of such problems.

Modeling pattern formation and cavity solitons in quantum dot optical microresonators in absorbing and amplifying regimes.

We present a complete overview of our investigation past and present of the modelization and study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of a coherent field emitted by a semiconductor microcavity based on self-assembled quantum dots. The modelistic approach is discussed in relation to prospective growth and experimental research, and the model is then applied to resonators for which the medium is either passive (coherent photogeneration of carriers) or active (carrier pumping by current bias). The optical response of the system is investigated, especially in what concerns the linewidth enhancement factor, which turns out to be critical for the onset of self-organized patterns. The regimes in which one can expect bistable response, modulational instabilities, pattern formation, and cavity soliton formation are investigated. The pattern scenario is described, and experimentally achievable conditions are predicted for the occurrence of stable cavity solitons.

Cavity solitons in semiconductor microresonators: existence, stability, and dynamical properties

We apply a versatile numerical technique to establishing the existence of cavity solitons (CS) in a semiconductor microresonator with bulk GaAs or multiple quantum well GaAs/AlGaAs as its active layer. Based on a Newton method, our approach implies the evaluation of the linearized operator describing deviations from the exact stationary state. The eigenvalues of this operator determine the dynamical stability of the CS. A typical eigenspectrum contains a zero eigenvalue with which a "neutral mode" of the CS is associated. Such neutral modes are characteristic of models with translational symmetry. All other eigenvalues typically have negative real parts large enough to cause any excitations to die out in a few medium response times. The neutral mode thus dominates the response to external random or deterministic perturbations, and its excitation induces a simple translation of the CS, which are thus stable and robust. We show how to relate the speed with which a CS moves under external perturbations to the projection of the perturbations on to the neutral mode, and give some examples, including weak gradients on the driving field and interaction with other CS. Finally, we show that the separatrix between two stable coexisting solutions: the homogeneous solution and the CS is the intervening unstable CS solution. Our results are important with a view to future applications of CS to optical information processing.