Abstract

In nonlinear fiber optics scalar modulational instability (MI) gain in the anomalous dispersion regime has been exploited to compensate for the losses in a sinch-pumped passive ring cavity in order to have lasing action [1]. MI in dissipative systems such as lasers is indeed a general mechanism for the generation of stable pulse trains [2]. Morover, in a sufficiently detuned cavity the domain of Mi-induced pulse formation extends to the normal dispersion [3]. In this work we show that removing the scalar approximation (i.e., including in the description the state of polarization of the field) leads to new phenomena such as cw multistability and a new kind of MI where the polarization of the growing sidebands is orthogonal to the pump. Our approach allows us to predict and characterize a rich variety of behaviors including cw polarization switching, the emission of stable pulse trains with different polarization, and chaos.

© 1993 Optical Society of America