Stationary and Dynamical Properties of Pure-Quartic Solitons

Abstract

We numerically solve a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation and find a family of pure-quartic solitons, existing through a balance of positive Kerr nonlinearity and negative quartic dispersion. These solitons have oscillatory tails, which can be understood analytically from the properties of linear waves with quartic dispersion. By computing the linear eigenspectrum of the solitons, we show that they are stable, but that they possess a nontrivial internal mode close to the radiation continuum. We also demonstrate evolution into a pure-quartic soliton from Gaussian initial conditions. The energy-width scaling of pure-quartic solitons differs strongly from that for conventional solitons, opening possibilities for pure-quartic soliton lasers.