Quantitative Analysis of Shock Wave Dynamics in a Fluid of Light

Abstract

We report on the formation of a dispersive shock wave in a nonlinear optical medium. We monitor the evolution of the shock by tuning the incoming beam power. The experimental observations for the position and intensity of the solitonic edge of the shock, as well as the location of the nonlinear oscillations are well described by recent developments of Whitham modulation theory. Our work constitutes a detailed and accurate benchmark for this approach. It opens exciting possibilities to engineer specific configurations of optical shock wave for studying wave-mean flow interaction.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures, Supplemental Material

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Cited by in corpus (22)

• Analogue simulations of quantum gravity with fluids
• Hot atomic vapors for nonlinear and quantum optics
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• Short Bragg pulse spectroscopy for a paraxial fluids of light
• Turbulent dynamics in two-dimensional paraxial fluid of light
• Non-equilibrium pre-thermal states in a two-dimensional photon fluid
• Whitham modulation theory for the defocusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation in two and three spatial dimensions
• Blast waves in a paraxial fluid of light
• Dissipation-enhanced collapse singularity of a nonlocal fluid of light in a hot atomic vapor
• The Whitham approach to Generalized Hydrodynamics
• Topological constraints on the dynamics of vortex formation in a two-dimensional quantum fluid
• Spin-orbit-coupled fluids of light in bulk nonlinear media
• Analogue gravitational field from nonlinear fluid dynamics
• Accessing and Manipulating Dispersive Shock Waves in a Nonlinear and Nonlocal Rydberg Medium
• Spin-injection-generated shock waves and solitons in a ferromagnetic thin film: the spin piston problem
• Spin and Density Modes in a Binary Fluid of Light
• Observation of Jones-Roberts solitons in a paraxial quantum fluid of light
• Paraxial fluids of light
• Shock wave generation and propagation in dissipative and nonlocal nonlinear Rydberg media
• Static and dynamic properties of self-bound droplets of light in hot vapours
• Characterizing far from equilibrium states of the one-dimensional nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger equation
• Listening to Quantum Gravity?