Exact control of parity-time symmetry in periodically modulated nonlinear optical couplers

We propose a mechanism for the realization of exact control of parity-time (PT) symmetry by using a periodically modulated nonlinear optical coupler with balanced gain and loss. It is shown that for certain appropriately chosen values of the modulation parameters, we can construct a family of exact analytical solutions for the two-mode equations describing the dynamics of such nonlinear couplers. These exact solutions give explicit examples that allow us to precisely manipulate the system from nonlinearity-induced symmetry breaking to PT symmetry, thus providing an analytical approach to all-optical signal control in nonlinear PT-symmetric structures.