Abstract

In this work we present experimental demonstration of the evolution of localization in frequency of the optical kicked rotor in dispersive single mode fibers, predicted in.¹ This localization occurs after propagation in a dispersive fiber of broad light pulses that are repeatedly kicked by a sinusoidal RF phase modulation at equally spaced locations along the fiber. The naive expectation concerning the evolution of the spectrum and the buildup of sidebands (harmonics) is that their number diffusively increases with the number of kicks, so that the spectrum continuously broadens with propagation. However due to localization the spectrum is confined, usually with an exponential signature. The focus of the present paper is the transition between the broadening and the localization regimes, and the number of kicks needed for it.

© 2002 Optical Society of America