We propose a scheme to generate stable vector spatiotemporal solitons through a Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (Rydberg-EIT) system. Three-dimensional vector monopole and vortex solitons have been found under three nonlocal degrees. The numerical calculation and analytical solutions indicate that these solitons are generated with low energy and can stably propagate along the axes. The behavior of vector spatiotemporal solitons can be manipulated by the local and nonlocal nonlinearities. The results show a memory feature as these solitons can be stored and retrieved effectively by tuning the control field.
We propose a scheme to generate stable vector spatiotemporal solitons through a Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency (Rydberg-EIT) system. Three-dimensional vector monopole and vortex solitons have been found under three nonlocal degrees. The numerical calculation and analytical solutions indicate that these solitons are generated with low energy and can stably propagate along the axes. The behavior of vector spatiotemporal solitons can be manipulated by the local and nonlocal nonlinearities. The results show a memory feature as these solitons can be stored and retrieved effectively by tuning the control field.
Realizing vector spatiotemporal solitons that are stable in high dimensions is a long-standing goal in the study of nonlinear optical physics. Here, a scheme is proposed to generate three-dimensional (3D) vector spatiotemporal solitons in a cold atomic system with linear and nonlinear parity-time (PT) potentials by utilizing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We investigate the existence and stability of these vector 3D semilunar solitons (SSs) and vortex solitons (VSs) supported by the linear and nonlinear PT potentials. The results show that these solitons have extremely low generation power and very slow propagation velocity and can stably propagate with constant total energy in this system. The frontal head-on collisions of two vector solitons feature quasi-elastic collisions. The dynamics characteristics of these solitons depend on the linear and nonlinear PT-symmetric potential parameters, in particular, the imaginary part of PT potentials. Our study provides a new route for manipulating high-dimensional nonlinear vector optical signals via the controlled optical linear and nonlinear potentials in cold atomic gases.
Realizing single light bullets and vortices that are stable in high dimensions is a long-standing goal in the study of nonlinear optical physics. On the other hand, the storage and retrieval of such stable high dimensional optical pulses may offer a variety of applications. Here we present a scheme to generate such optical pulses in a cold Rydberg atomic gas. By virtue of electromagnetically induced transparency, strong, long-range atom-atom interaction in Rydberg states is mapped to light fields, resulting in a giant, fast-responding nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity and the formation of light bullets and vortices carrying orbital angular momenta, which have extremely low generation power, very slow propagation velocity, and can stably propagate, with the stability provided by the combination of local and the nonlocal Kerr nonlinearities. We demonstrate that the light bullets and vortices obtained can be stored and retrieved in the system with high efficiency and fidelity. Our study provides a new route for manipulating high-dimensional nonlinear optical processes via the controlled optical nonlinearities in cold Rydberg gases.
Abstract Bound states of solitons, alias soliton molecules (SMs), are well known in 1D systems, while making stable bound states of multidimensional solitons is a challenging problem because of the underlying instabilities. Here, a scheme for the creation of stable (2+1)D and (3+1)D optical SMs in a gas of cold Rydberg atoms is proposed, in which electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is induced by a control laser field. It is shown that, through the interplay of the EIT and the strong long‐range interaction between the Rydberg atoms, the system gives rise to giant nonlocal Kerr nonlinearity, which in turn supports stable (2+1)D spatial optical SMs, as well as ring‐shaped soliton necklaces, including rotating ones. They feature a large size, low generation power, and can be efficiently manipulated by tuning the nonlocality degree of the Kerr nonlinearity. Stable (3+1)D spatiotemporal optical SMs, composed of fundamental or vortex solitons, with low power and ultraslow propagation velocity, can also be generated in the system. These SMs can be stored and retrieved through the switching off and on of the control laser field. The findings reported here suggest applications to data processing and transmission in optical systems.
We investigate the formation and propagation of vector vortex solitons (VS) and unipolar soliton (US) in a cold atomic gas with Bessel lattices (BLs). The system we consider is a cold, coherent atomic gas with a tripod or multipod level configuration. Dueing to the giant enhancement of Kerr nonlinearity contributed by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), a vector weak vortex soliton can be effectively formed with ultraslow propagating velocity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the characteristics of 2D VS and US can be controlled and manipulated via adjusting BLs. The results predicted here may be used to design all-optical switching at very low light level.
We investigate the formation of stable (2+1)-dimensional spatial-domain optical soliton molecules and breather molecules in a gas of Rydberg atoms, highlighting the role of the nonlocal nonlinearity, which is generated by the electromagnetically induced transparency in the Rydberg medium. The setting supports diverse species of large-size polygonal soliton molecules, including rectangular and oblique rhombuses, checkerboard cells, and hexagons. The analysis identifies two distinct formation regimes. In the case of moderately nonlocality, the long-range interactions alone stabilize the soliton molecules in the static form. In contrast, in the strongly nonlocal regime, initially imposed rotation is required to generate a centrifugal force that counteracts the strong attraction, resulting in stably rotating soliton molecules. The rotation period can be controlled by adjusting the system parameters. Furthermore, appropriate initial velocities can induce inherent breathing dynamics in the solitons, leading to the formation of breather molecules. Tuning the initial velocity, one can control the evolution of soliton molecules and breather molecules and even realize their mutual conversion. Our study offers a new scheme for engineering soliton molecules and breather molecules, and suggests new possibilities for the design of data processing and transmission in optical systems.
We propose a scheme to realize an optical Bessel potential with parity-time (PT) symmetry and investigate the existence, propagation, and manipulation of multidimensional optical solitons through the interplay among diffraction, Kerr nonlinearity, and potential confinement in a cold atomic gas under the condition of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We show that the system supports not only two-dimensional stationary optical solitons but also rotary ones; the stability of such solitons can be actively controlled by the gain-loss component (imaginary part), while the rotary motions can be tuned by the refractive-index component (real part) of the PT-symmetric potential. Moreover, we demonstrate that the system allows the existence of stable three-dimensional spatiotemporal optical solitons, i.e., optical bullets, which have ultraslow propagation velocity and display helicoidal motions with controllable propagation trajectories. Due to the Kerr nonlinearity enhanced by the EIT effect, extremely low power is needed to create these multidimensional optical solitons. The results reported here are useful not only for the generation and manipulation of high-dimensional solitons via PT-symmetric potentials, but also for promising applications in optical information processing and transmission.