Optical rogue waves and stimulated supercontinuum generation

Nonlinear action is known for its ability to create unusual phenomena and unexpected events. Optical rogue waves-freak pulses of broadband light arising in nonlinear fiber-testify to the fact that optical nonlinearities are no less capable of generating anomalous events than those in other physical contexts. In this paper, we will review our work on optical rogue waves, an ultrafast phenomenon counterpart to the freak ocean waves known to roam the open oceans. We will discuss the experimental observation of these rare events in real time and the measurement of their heavy-tailed statistical properties-a probabilistic form known to appear in a wide variety of other complex systems from financial markets to genetics. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation predicts the existence of optical rogue waves, offering a means to study their origins with simulations. We will also discuss the type of initial conditions behind optical rogue waves. Because a subtle but specific fluctuation leads to extreme waves, the rogue wave instability can be harnessed to produce these events on demand. By exploiting this property, it is possible to produce a new type of optical switch as well as a supercontinuum source that operates in the long pulse regime but still achieves a stable, coherent output.