We have investigated the interaction between a strong soliton and a weak probe with certain configurations that allow optical trapping in gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers in the presence of the shock effect. We have shown theoretically and numerically that the shock term can lead to an unbroken parity-time (PT) symmetry potential in these kinds of fibers. Reciprocity breaking, a remarkable feature of the PT symmetry, is also demonstrated numerically. Our results will open different configurations and avenues for observing PT-symmetry breaking in optical fibers, without the need to resort to cumbersome dissipative structures.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.7497

Optics (physics.optics)