Mapping the XY Hamiltonian onto a network of coupled lasers

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the physical implementation of classical spin models through networks of optical oscillators. However, a key missing step in this mapping is to formally prove that the dynamics of such a nonlinear dynamical system is toward minimizing a global cost function which is equivalent with the spin model Hamiltonian. Here we introduce a minimal dynamical model for a network of dissipatively coupled optical oscillators and prove that the dynamics of such a system is governed by a Lyapunov function that serves as a cost function for the system. This cost function is in general a function of both phases and intensities of the oscillators and depends strongly on the pump parameter. In the case of bipartite network topologies, the amplitudes of the oscillators become identical in the steady state and the cost function reduces to the XY Hamiltonian. In the general case for nontrivial network topologies, however, the cost function approaches the XY Hamiltonian only in the strong pump limit. We show that by adiabatically tuning the pump parameter, the network can largely avoid trapping into the local minima of the governing cost function and stabilize into the ground state of the associated XY Hamiltonian. These results show the great potential of laser networks for unconventional computing.