We consider the dynamics of two directionally coupled unequally noisy oscillators, the first oscillator being noisier than the second oscillator. We derive analytically the phase diffusion coefficient of both oscillators in a heterogeneous setup (different frequencies, coupling coefficients, and intrinsic noise intensities) and show that the phase coherence of the second oscillator depends in a nonmonotonic fashion on the noise intensity of the first oscillator: as the first oscillator becomes less coherent, i.e., worse, the second one becomes more coherent, i.e., better. This surprising effect is related to the statistics of the first oscillator which provides a source of noise for the second oscillator, that is non-Gaussian, bounded, and possesses a finite bandwidth. We verify that the effect is robust by numerical simulations of two coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo models.

We propose a scheme for the emission of few-cycle dispersive waves in the midinfrared using hollow-core photonic crystal fibers filled with noble gas. The underlying mechanism is the formation of a plasma cloud by a self-compressed, subcycle pump pulse. The resulting free-electron population modifies the fiber dispersion, allowing phase-matched access to dispersive waves at otherwise inaccessible frequencies, well into the midinfrared. Remarkably, the pulses generated turn out to have durations of the order of two optical cycles. In addition, this ultrafast emission, which occurs even in the absence of a zero dispersion point between pump and midinfrared wavelengths, is tunable over a wide frequency range simply by adjusting the gas pressure. These theoretical results pave the way to a new generation of compact, fiber-based sources of few-cycle midinfrared radiation.

We observe the propagation dynamics of surface gravity water waves, having an Airy function envelope, in both the linear and the nonlinear regimes. In the linear regime, the shape of the envelope is preserved while propagating in an 18-m water tank, despite the inherent dispersion of the wave packet. The Airy wave function can propagate at a velocity that is slower (or faster if the Airy envelope is inverted) than the group velocity. Furthermore, the introduction of the Airy wave packet as surface water waves enables the observation of its position-dependent chirp and cubic-phase offset, predicted more than 35 years ago, for the first time. When increasing the envelope of the input Airy pulse, nonlinear effects become dominant, and are manifested by the generation of water-wave solitons.

Using an optical nanoresonator to realize extreme concentration of light at subwavelength nanoscale dimensions is of both fundamental and practical significance. Unfortunately, the optical cross section of an isotropic nanoresonator is determined by the resonant wavelength, which unfavorably limits the highest concentration ratio. Here we show that the cross section of a localized subwavelength resonator can be drastically enhanced by orders of magnitude. A single microscopic nanoresonator could exhibit a macroscopic optical cross section. We further show that the enhancement can be implemented in simple dielectric structures that are readily compatible with optoelectronic integration. The giant optical cross section of a nano-object provides a versatile platform to create extremely strong light-matter interactions at the nanoscale.

We combine high-finesse optical resonators and spatial-spectral interferometry to a highly phase-sensitive investigation technique for nonlinear light-matter interactions. We experimentally validate an ab initio model for the nonlinear response of a resonator housing a gas target, permitting the global optimization of intracavity conversion processes like high-order harmonic generation. We predict the feasibility of driving intracavity high-order harmonic generation far beyond intensity limitations observed in state-of-the-art systems by exploiting the intracavity nonlinearity to compress the pulses in time.

It is shown, by simulation and theory, that circularly or elliptically polarized terahertz radiation can be generated when a static magnetic ($B$) field is imposed on a gas target along the propagation direction of a two-color laser driver. The radiation frequency is determined by $\sqrt{{\omega }_p^2+{\omega }_c^2/4}+{\omega }_c/2$, where ${\omega }_p$ is the plasma frequency and ${\omega }_c$ is the electron cyclotron frequency. With the increase of the $B$ field, the radiation changes from a single-cycle broadband waveform to a continuous narrow-band emission. In high-$B$-field cases, the radiation strength is proportional to ${\omega }_p^2/{\omega }_c$. The $B$ field provides a tunability in the radiation frequency, spectrum width, and field strength.

Precise measurements are performed on spectral line shapes of spontaneous Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering in mixtures of the noble gases Ar and Kr, with He. Admixture of a light He atomic fraction results in marked changes of the spectra, although in all experiments He is merely a spectator atom: it affects the relaxation of density fluctuations of the heavy constituent, but its contribution to the scattered light intensity is negligibly small. The results are compared to a theory for the spectral line shape without adjustable parameters, yielding excellent agreement for the case of binary monatomic gases, signifying a step towards modeling and understanding of light scattering in more complex molecular media.

We introduce a method to achieve the three-dimensional dynamic localization of light. We consider a dynamically modulated resonator lattice that has been previously shown to exhibit an effective gauge potential for photons. When such an effective gauge potential varies sinusoidally in time, dynamic localization of light can be achieved. Moreover, while previous works on such an effective gauge potential for photons were carried out in the regime where the rotating wave approximation is valid, the effect of dynamic localization persists even when the counterrotating term is taken into count.

We explore the unusual electromagnetic response of ultrathin anisotropic $\sigma$-near-zero uniaxial metasurfaces, demonstrating extreme topological transitions—from closed elliptical to open hyperbolic—for surface plasmon propagation, associated with a dramatic tailoring of the local density of states. The proposed metasurfaces may be implemented using nanostructured graphene monolayers and open unprecedented venues for extreme light confinement and unusual propagation and guidance, combined with large tunability via electric bias.

Self-sustained reaction fronts in a disordered medium subject to an external flow display self-affine roughening, pinning, and depinning transitions. We measure spatial and temporal fluctuations of the front in $1+1$ dimensions, controlled by a single parameter, the mean flow velocity. Three distinct universality classes are observed, consistent with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) class for fast advancing or receding fronts, the quenched KPZ class (positive-qKPZ) when the mean flow approximately cancels the reaction rate, and the negative-qKPZ class for slowly receding fronts. Both qKPZ classes exhibit distinct depinning transitions, in agreement with the theory.

The equilibrium shape of a drop in contact with solid surfaces can undergo continuous or discontinuous transitions upon changes in either drop volume or surface energies. In many instances, such transitions involve the motion of the three-phase contact line and are thus sensitive to contact angle hysteresis. Using a combination of electrowetting-based experiments and numerical calculations, we demonstrate for a generic sphere-plate confinement geometry how contact angle hysteresis affects the mechanical stability of competing axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric drop conformations and qualitatively changes the character of transitions between them.

When a supercooled liquid approaches glass transition, viscous flow slows down greatly, but often the Brownian motion of a molecular probe in the host liquid does not slow down as much, causing the Stokes-Einstein relation to fail by orders of magnitude. Here we formulate a theory that relates the Brownian motion of the probe to two concurrent processes in the host liquid: viscous flow and molecular hopping. Molecular hopping prevails over viscous flow when the probe is small and the temperature is low. Our theory generalizes the Stokes-Einstein relation and fits the experimental data remarkably well.

We derive in the present work topological photonic states purely based on conventional dielectric material by deforming a honeycomb lattice of cylinders into a triangular lattice of cylinder hexagons. The photonic topology is associated with a pseudo-time-reversal (TR) symmetry constituted by the TR symmetry supported in general by Maxwell equations and the $C_6$ crystal symmetry upon design, which renders the Kramers doubling in the present photonic system. It is shown explicitly for the transverse magnetic mode that the role of pseudospin is played by the angular momentum of the wave function of the out-of-plane electric field. We solve Maxwell equations and demonstrate the new photonic topology by revealing pseudospin-resolved Berry curvatures of photonic bands and helical edge states characterized by Poynting vectors.

We describe a mechanism that results in the nonlinear instability of stationary states even in the case where the stationary states are linearly stable. This instability is due to the nonlinearity-induced coupling of the linearization’s internal modes of negative energy with the continuous spectrum. In a broad class of nonlinear Schrödinger equations considered, the presence of such internal modes guarantees the nonlinear instability of the stationary states in the evolution dynamics. To corroborate this idea, we explore three prototypical case examples: (a) an antisymmetric soliton in a double-well potential, (b) a twisted localized mode in a one-dimensional lattice with cubic nonlinearity, and (c) a discrete vortex in a two-dimensional saturable lattice. In all cases, we observe a weak nonlinear instability, despite the linear stability of the respective states.

The angle between subsequent particle displacement increments is evaluated as a function of the time lag in isotropic turbulence. It is shown that the evolution of this angle contains two well-defined power laws, reflecting the multiscale dynamics of high-Reynolds number turbulence. The probability density function of the directional change is shown to be self-similar and well approximated by an analytically derived model assuming Gaussianity and independence of the velocity and the Lagrangian acceleration.

We observe distinct regimes of orbital angular momentum (OAM) transfer from two-dimensional Bessel-shaped acoustic vortices to matter. In a homogeneous diphasic mixture of microparticles and water, slow swirling about the vortex axis is seen. This effect is driven by the absorption of OAM across the mixture, the motion following the OAM density distribution. Larger particles are formed into clusters by the acoustic radiation force, making the mixture nonhomogeneous. Here, the OAM transfer to the microparticle clusters dominates and they spin at high speeds entraining the surrounding fluid.