Vector dynamics of incoherent dissipative optical solitons

Mode-locked lasers are prone to exhibit a wide range of dynamics, many of them analyzed within the concept of dissipative solitons. However, ultrafast laser dynamics goes beyond the denomination of mode locking, for instance, with the possible emission of incoherent pulse bursts. Therefore, we propose to expand the notion of dissipative solitons to incoherent localized formations, which we illustrate experimentally by reporting original vector dynamics of incoherent dissipative solitons generated in an ultrafast fiber laser. The laser uses a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and is operated in the anomalous dispersion regime. We provide a real-time spectral characterization of the vector dynamics, highlighting several salient features of the self-organization. Both polarization locking and polarization switching dynamics of the incoherent soliton are observed, generalizing previous observations made in the coherent case. We also demonstrate that transient spectro-temporal ordering takes place among the incoherent pulse, analogous to the coalescence of well-separated droplets in liquids. In the vicinity of polarization switching dynamics, we show that intermittent behaviors can be associated with the generation of vector rogue waves bearing common features with the soliton explosion effect. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America