Optical pulse propagation in fibers with random dispersion

Abstract The propagation of optical pulses in two types of fibers with randomly varying dispersion is investigated. The first type refers to a uniform fiber dispersion superimposed by random modulations with a zero mean. The second type is the dispersion-managed fiber line with fluctuating parameters of the dispersion map. Application of the mean field method leads to the nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) with a dissipation term, expressed by a fourth-order derivative of the wave envelope. The prediction of the mean field approach regarding the decay rate of a soliton is compared with that of the perturbation theory based on the inverse scattering transform (IST). A good agreement between these two approaches is found. Possible ways of compensation of the radiative decay of solitons using the linear and nonlinear amplification are explored. The corresponding mean field equation coincides with the complex Swift–Hohenberg equation. The condition for the autosolitonic regime in propagation of optical pulses along a fiber line with fluctuating dispersion is derived and the existence of autosoliton (dissipative soliton) is confirmed by direct numerical simulation of the stochastic NLSE. The dynamics of solitons in optical communication systems with random dispersion-management is further studied applying the variational principle to the mean field NLSE, which results in a system of ODEs for soliton parameters. Extensive numerical simulations of the stochastic NLSE, mean field equation and corresponding set of ODEs are performed to verify the predictions of the developed theory.