RUI: Noise Shaping in Complex Nonlinear Optical Systems

The behavior of complex natural systems results from the coupling of causal dynamical evolution with random events. This work is a coordinated experimental and theoretical investigation of how nonlinear dynamical processes shape the statistics of multiple noise sources in moderately complex physical systems. The nonlinear processes on which this work will focus occur in optical fiber and consist of multi-order stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and four-wave mixing (FWM) of polarization components of Q-switched laser pulses. These processes are present or actively exploited in a wide range of applications such as frequency conversion, signal amplification and processing, and pulse compression. Understanding how these nonlinear processes shape noise is therefore of both practical and fundamental importance.