Role of third-order dispersion in chirped Airy pulse propagation in single-mode fibers

The dynamic propagation of the initial chirped Airy pulse in single-mode fibers is studied numerically, special attention being paid to the role of the third-order dispersion (TOD). It is shown that for the positive TOD, the Airy pulse experiences inversion irrespective of the sign of initial chirp. The role of TOD in the dynamic propagation of the initial chirped Airy pulse depends on the combined sign of the group-velocity dispersion (GVD) and the initial chirp. If the GVD and chirp have the opposite signs, the chirped Airy pulse compresses first and passes through a breakdown area, then reconstructs a new Airy pattern with opposite acceleration, with the breakdown area becoming small and the main peak of the new Airy pattern becoming asymmetric with an oscillatory structure due to the positive TOD. If the GVD and chirp have the same signs, the finite-energy Airy pulse compresses to a focal point and then inverses its acceleration, in the case of positive TOD, the distance to the focal point becoming smaller. At zero-dispersion point, the finite-energy Airy pulse inverses to the opposite acceleration at a focal point, with the tight-focusing effect being reduced by initial chirp. Under the effect of negative TOD, the initial chirped Airy pulse disperses and the lobes split. In addition, in the anomalous dispersion region, for strong nonlinearity, the initial chirped Airy pulse splits and enters a soliton shedding regime. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.