Effect of dynamical instability on timing jitter in passively mode-locked quantum-dot lasers

We study the effect of noise on the dynamics of passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers both experimentally and theoretically. A method combining analytical and numerical approaches for estimation of pulse timing jitter is proposed. We investigate how the presence of dynamical features such as wavelength bistability in a quantum-dot laser affects timing jitter.

Stability and Instability of Solitary Wave Solutions of a Nonlinear Dispersive System of Benjamin-Bona-Mahony Type

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 35B35, 35B40, 35Q35, 76B25, 76E30.

On the theory of the modulation instability in optical fiber and laser amplifiers

The modulation instability (MI) in optical fiber amplifiers and lasers with anomalous dispersion leads to CW beam breakup and the growth of multiple pulses. This can be both a detrimental effect, limiting the performance of amplifiers, and also an underlying physical mechanism in the operation of MI-based devices. Here we revisit the analytical theory of MI in fiber optical amplifiers. The results of the exact theory are compared with the previously used adiabatic approximation model, and the range of applicability of the latter is determined. The same technique is applicable to the study of spatial MI in solid state laser amplifiers and MI in non-uniform media. © 2011 SPIE.

On the theory of the modulation instability in optical fiber amplifiers

The modulation instability (MI) in optical fiber amplifiers and lasers with anomalous dispersion leads to cw radiation breakup. This can be both a detrimental effect limiting the performance of amplifiers and an underlying physical mechanism in the operation of MI-based devices. Here we revisit the analytical theory of MI in fiber optical amplifiers. The results of the exact theory are compared with the previously used adiabatic approximation model, and the range of applicability of the latter is determined. © 2010 Optical Society of America.

In-cavity pulse shaping and dissipative parametric instability mode-locking in fibre lasers

At the level of fundamental research, fibre lasers provide convenient and reproducible experimental settings for the study of a variety of nonlinear dynamical processes, while at the applied research level, pulses with different and optimised features – e.g., in terms of pulse duration, temporal and/or spectral shape, energy, repetition rate and emission bandwidth – are sought with the general constraint of developing efficient cavity architectures. In this work, we review our recent progress on the realisation of pulse shaping in passively- mode-locked fibre lasers by inclusion of an amplitude and phase spectral filter into the laser cavity. We present a fibre laser design in which pulse shaping occurs through filtering of a spectrally nonlinearly broadened pulse in the cavity. This strategy of pulse shaping is illustrated through the numerical demonstration of the laser operation in different pulse-generation regimes, including parabolic, flattop and triangular waveform generations, depending on the amplitude profile of the in-cavity spectral filter [1]. As an application of this general approach, we show that the use of an in-cavity flat-top spectral filter makes it possible to directly generate sinc-shaped Nyquist pulses of high quality and of a widely tunable bandwidth from the laser [2]. We also report on a recently-developed versatile erbium-doped fibre laser, in which conventional soliton, dispersion-managed soliton (stretched-pulse) and dissipative soliton mode-locking regimes can be selectively and reliably targeted by programming different group-velocity dispersion profiles and bandwidths on an in-cavity programmable filter [3]. Further, we report on our recent results on the passive mode locking of a Raman fibre laser by a recently predicted new type of parametric instability – the dissipative Faraday instability [4], where spatially periodic zig-zag modulation of spectrally dependent losses can lead to pattern formation in the temporal domain. High-order harmonic mode locking is achieved in a very simple experimental configuration, with the laser cavity including an optical fibre and two chirped fibre Bragg gratings, and no additional mode-locking elements. The results not only open up new possibilities for the design of mode-locked lasers, but extend beyond fibre optics to other fields of physics and engineering. References [1] S. Boscolo, C. Finot, H. Karakuzu, P. Petropoulos, “Pulse shaping in mode-locked fiber laser by in-cavity spectral filter,” Opt. Lett., vol. 39, pp. 438–441, 2014. [2] S. Boscolo, C. Finot, S. K. Turitsyn, “Bandwidth programmable optical Nyquist pulse generation in passively mode-locked fiber laser,” IEEE Photon. J., vol. 7, 7802008(8), 2015. [3] J. Peng, S. Boscolo, “Filter-based dispersion-managed versatile ultrafast fibre laser,” Sci. Rep., 2016, In press. [4] A. M. Perego, N. Tarasov, D. V. Churkin, S. K. Turitsyn, K. Staliunas, “Pattern generation by dissipative parametric instability,” Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 116, 028701, 2016.

Essays on the determinants of private investment: The effects of relative price uncertainty and political instability

The objective of this study was to provide empirical evidence on the effects of relative price uncertainty and political instability on private investment. My effort is expressed in a single-equation model using macroeconomic and socio-political data from eight Latin American countries for the period 1970–1996. Relative price uncertainty is measured by the implied volatility of the exchange rate and political instability is measured by using indicators of social unrest and political violence. ^ I found that, after controlling for other variables, relative price uncertainty and political instability are negatively associated with private investment. Macroeconomic and political stability are key ingredients for the achievement of a strong investment response. This highlights the need to develop the state and build a civil society in which citizens can participate in decision-making and express consent without generating social turmoil. At the same time the government needs to implement structural policies along with relative price adjustments to eliminate excess volatility in price movements in order to provide a stable environment for investment. ^

Instability of CTG Repeats is Governed by the Position of a DNA Base Lesion through Base Excision Repair

Trinucleotide repeat (TNR) expansions and deletions are associated with human neurodegeneration and cancer. However, their underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Recent studies have demonstrated that CAG repeat expansions can be initiated by oxidative DNA base damage and fulfilled by base excision repair (BER), suggesting active roles for oxidative DNA damage and BER in TNR instability. Here, we provide the first evidence that oxidative DNA damage can induce CTG repeat deletions along with limited expansions in human cells. Biochemical characterization of BER in the context of (CTG)20 repeats further revealed that repeat instability correlated with the position of a base lesion in the repeat tract. A lesion located at the 59-end of CTG repeats resulted in expansion, whereas a lesion located either in the middle or the 39-end of the repeats led to deletions only. The positioning effects appeared to be determined by the formation of hairpins at various locations on the template and the damaged strands that were bypassed by DNA polymerase b and processed by flap endonuclease 1 with different efficiency. Our study indicates that the position of a DNA base lesion governs whether TNR is expanded or deleted through BER.

PCNA Retention on DNA into G2/M Phase Causes Genome Instability in Cells Lacking Elg1

Open Access funded by Medical Research Council Acknowledgments We thank Richard Kolodner, Grant Brown, and Daniel Durocher for strains and plasmids. We thank Anne Donaldson, Alexander Lorenz, and Shin-ichiro Hiraga from University of Aberdeen for careful reading of the manuscript. Research in T.K.’s lab is supported by Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship L019698/1. V.K.G. was supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant K006304/1. T.S.T. was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (nos. 23131507 and 25131712).

Internal instability as a possible failure mechanism for layered composites

Funding Financial support of part of this research by The Royal Society, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, The Royal Academy of Engineering and The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland is gratefully acknowledged.

Mode-locking via dissipative Faraday instability

Emergence of coherent structures and patterns at the nonlinear stage of modulation instability of a uniform state is an inherent feature of many biological, physical and engineering systems. There are several well-studied classical modulation instabilities, such as Benjamin-Feir, Turing and Faraday instability, which play a critical role in the self-organization of energy and matter in non-equilibrium physical, chemical and biological systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate the dissipative Faraday instability induced by spatially periodic zig-zag modulation of a dissipative parameter of the system - spectrally dependent losses - achieving generation of temporal patterns and high-harmonic mode-locking in a fibre laser. We demonstrate features of this instability that distinguish it from both the Benjamin-Feir and the purely dispersive Faraday instability. Our results open the possibilities for new designs of mode-locked lasers and can be extended to other fields of physics and engineering.

Dissipative parametric modulation instability and pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems

We present the essential features of the dissipative parametric instability, in the universal complex Ginzburg- Landau equation. Dissipative parametric instability is excited through a parametric modulation of frequency dependent losses in a zig-zag fashion in the spectral domain. Such damping is introduced respectively for spectral components in the +ΔF and in the -ΔF region in alternating fashion, where F can represent wavenumber or temporal frequency depending on the applications. Such a spectral modulation can destabilize the homogeneous stationary solution of the system leading to growth of spectral sidebands and to the consequent pattern formation: both stable and unstable patterns in one- and in two-dimensional systems can be excited. The dissipative parametric instability provides an useful and interesting tool for the control of pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems with potentially interesting applications in technological applications, like the design of mode- locked lasers emitting pulse trains with tunable repetition rate; but it could also find realizations in nanophotonics circuits or in dissipative polaritonic Bose-Einstein condensates.

Self-pulsating nonlinear systems via dissipative parametric instability

The recently discovered dissipative parametric instability is presented in the framework of the universal complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. The pattern formation associated with the instability is discussed in connection to the relevant applications in nonlinear photonics especially as a new tool for pulsed lasers design.

Topoisomerase 1 (Top1)-associated Genome Instability in Yeast: Effects of Persistent Cleavage Complexes or Increased Top1 Levels

Topoisomerase 1 (Top1), a Type IB topoisomerase, functions to relieve transcription- and replication-associated torsional stress in DNA. Top1 cleaves one strand of DNA, covalently associates with the 3’ end of the nick to form a Top1-cleavage complex (Top1cc), passes the intact strand through the nick and finally re-ligates the broken strand. The chemotherapeutic drug, Camptothecin, intercalates at a Top1cc and prevents the crucial re-ligation reaction that is mediated by Top1, resulting in the conversion of a nick to a toxic double-strand break during DNA replication or the accumulation of Top1cc. This mechanism of action preferentially targets rapidly dividing tumor cells, but can also affect non-tumor cells when patients undergo treatment. Additionally, Top1 is found to be elevated in numerous tumor tissues making it an attractive target for anticancer therapies. We investigated the effects of Top1 on genome stability, effects of persistent Top1-cleavage complexes and elevated Top1 levels, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that increased levels of the Top1cc resulted in a five- to ten-fold increase in reciprocal crossovers, three- to fifteen fold increase in mutagenesis and greatly increased instability within the rDNA and CUP1 tandem arrays. Increased Top1 levels resulted in a fifteen- to twenty-two fold increase in mutagenesis and increased instability in rDNA locus. These results have important implications for understanding the effects of CPT and elevated Top1 levels as a chemotherapeutic agent.

Electronic Instability and Anharmonicity in SnSe

The binary compound SnSe exhibits record high thermoelectric performance, largely because of its very low thermal conductivity. The origin of the strong phonon anharmonicity leading to the low thermal conductivity of SnSe is investigated through first-principles calculations of the electronic structure and phonons. It is shown that a Jahn-Teller instability of the electronic structure is responsible for the high-temperature lattice distortion between the Cmcm and Pnma phases. The coupling of phonon modes and the phase transition mechanism are elucidated, emphasizing the connection with hybrid improper ferroelectrics. This coupled instability of electronic orbitals and lattice dynamics is the origin of the strong anharmonicity causing the ultralow thermal conductivity in SnSe. Exploiting such bonding instabilities to generate strong anharmonicity may provide a new rational to design efficient thermoelectric materials.