Abstract
The antiphase state is a simple periodical dynamical state that was observed recently in experiments on a three-mode solid-state laser.1 Specifically, the antiphase state for a system of N globally coupled oscillating elements occurs when each element has the same waveform but no two oscillators have the same phase. In fact, these dynamical states–which are variously known as “splay phase states,” “discrete rotating waves,” “waltzing states,” and “ponies on a merry-go-round” in the physics and mathematics literature–have been the focus of intense study of late. As a practical matter, antiphase states necessarily occur with an extraordinarily high multiplicity: one such state implies the coexistence of some (N- 1) others! Although this property can lead to a new kind of noise sensitivity known as attractor crowding,2 Otsuka has suggested3 exploiting the multiplicity to make a novel multistate optical memory element; a similar application has been proposed for superconducting Josephson-junction arrays. Any such application requires that the antiphase states be stable (i.e., attracting in phase space).
© 1993 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
M. Georgiou, P. Mandel, and D. Pieroux
QWB1 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1993
Paul Mandel and J.-Y. Wang
QThC2 European Quantum Electronics Conference (EQEC) 1994
Ira B. Schwartz and Kwok Yeung Tsang
QWB2 Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO:FS) 1993