Coexistence and evolution of bright pulses and dark solitons in a fiber laser

Bright pulses and dark solitons coexisting and evolving in a fiber laser with strong normal dispersion have been observed. Experimental results show that there exists a transitional pulse regime with the pulse duty cycle of similar to 0.5 that connects the bright pulse and dark soliton regimes. On adjusting polarization states and pump power, the duty cycle of pulses varies so that the laser emits bright, transitional, and dark pulses alternately. It is found that dark solitons are composed of two antiphase square pulses with very large durations and duty cycles. The experimental observations reveal that the bright and dark solitons are not completely isolated from each other. This work could provide a new perspective to the understanding of bright and dark soliton formations as well as their transformations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.