Breakthrough laser technique holds quantum matter in stable packets
For the first time, physicists have generated and observed stable bright matter-wave solitons with attractive interactions within a grid of laser light.
Research news on Nonlinear waves
Nonlinear waves in physical systems are wave phenomena governed by equations in which the restoring forces or constitutive relations depend nonlinearly on the field amplitudes, leading to amplitude-dependent propagation characteristics and interactions. Unlike linear waves, they can exhibit self-steepening, shock formation, soliton generation, modulational instability, and harmonic generation. Mathematically, they arise from nonlinear partial differential equations such as the Korteweg–de Vries, nonlinear Schrödinger, sine-Gordon, and nonlinear elastic or hydrodynamic equations. Nonlinear waves play a central role in fluid dynamics, plasma physics, nonlinear optics, condensed matter, and elastic media, where they mediate energy transport, pattern formation, and coherent structure dynamics.
Physicists create resilient 3D solitons in the lab
For the first time, physicists in Italy have created a 'lump soliton': an extremely stable packet of light waves which can travel through 3D space, and even interact with other solitons without losing its shape.
Team reviews 2024 photonics advances, including free-electron coupling with nonlinear optical states
Nonlinear optical dynamics—intensity-dependent response of light upon interaction with materials under high-intensity light sources—are of huge significance in modern photonics, finding applications in fields ranging ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 31, 2025
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Microscopic 'ocean' on a chip reveals new nonlinear wave behavior
University of Queensland researchers have created a microscopic "ocean" on a silicon chip to miniaturize the study of wave dynamics. The device, made at UQ's School of Mathematics and Physics, uses a layer of superfluid helium ...
Soft Matter
Oct 23, 2025
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Physicists create stable, 'breathing' solitons in settings without energy conservation
Solitonic waves—waves that keep their shape and direction of motion for a long time—have intrigued physicists for almost two centuries. In real-world circumstances, these waves eventually die out due to energy loss. A ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 19, 2025
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Researchers demonstrate first bidirectional asymmetric frequency conversion in a single system
A research team in Korea has experimentally demonstrated, for the first time in the world, a nonlinear wave phenomenon that changes its frequency—either rising or falling—depending on which direction the waves come from.
General Physics
Jul 25, 2025
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It's about (space-)time: Scientists explore new dimension for light
By breaking a decades-old paradigm and rethinking the role that the dimension of time plays in physics, researchers from the University of Rostock and the University of Birmingham have discovered novel flashes of light that ...
General Physics
Apr 23, 2025
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Amplifier with 10-fold bandwidth opens up for super lasers
Rapidly increasing data traffic is placing ever greater demands on the capacity of communication systems. In an article titled "Ultra-broadband optical amplification using nonlinear integrated waveguides" published in Nature, ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 9, 2025
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Nano rainbows: Expanding the light spectrum at the smallest scale
Since the invention of the laser in 1960, nonlinear optics has aimed to broaden light's spectral range and create new frequency components. Among the various techniques, supercontinuum (SC) generation stands out for its ability ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 13, 2025
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Physicists introduce approach to control wave patterns via fluid flows
The reliable control of traveling waves emerging from the coupling of oscillations and diffusion in physical, chemical and biological systems is a long-standing challenge within the physics community. Effective approaches ...
