We study interaction of a soliton in a parity-time (PT) symmetric coupler which has local perturbation of the coupling constant. Such a defect does not change the PT-symmetry of the system, but locally can achieve the exceptional point. We found that the symmetric solitons after interaction with the defect either transform into breathers or blow up. The dynamics of anti-symmetric solitons is more complex, showing domains of successive broadening of the beam and of the beam splitting in two outwards propagating solitons, in addition to the single breather generation and blow up. All the effects are preserved when the coupling strength in the center of the defect deviates from the exceptional point. If the coupling is strong enough the only observable outcome of the soliton-defect interaction is the generation of the breather.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1405.1829
Optics (physics.optics)

We considered the modulational instability of continuous-wave backgrounds, and the related generation and evolution of deterministic rogue waves in the recently introduced parity-time (PT)-symmetric system of linearly-coupled nonlinear Schr\”odinger equations, which describes a Kerr-nonlinear optical coupler with mutually balanced gain and loss in its cores. Besides the linear coupling, the overlapping cores are coupled through cross-phase-modulation term too. While the rogue waves, built according to the pattern of the Peregrine soliton, are (quite naturally) unstable, we demonstrate that the focusing cross-phase-modulation interaction results in their partial stabilization. For PT-symmetric and antisymmetric bright solitons, the stability region is found too, in an exact analytical form, and verified by means of direct simulations.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.7369
Optics (physics.optics); Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS)

We construct dark solitons in the recently introduced model of the nonlinear dual-core coupler with the mutually balanced gain and loss applied to the two cores, which is a realization of parity-time symmetry in nonlinear optics. The main issue is stability of the dark solitons. The modulational stability of the CW (continuous-wave) background, which supports the dark solitons, is studied analytically, and the full stability is investigated in a numerical form, via computation of eigenvalues for modes of small perturbations. Stability regions are thus identified in the parameter space of the system, and verified in direct simulations. Collisions between stable dark solitons are briefly considered too.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.3746
Optics (physics.optics); Pattern Formation and Solitons (nlin.PS)