Interaction of pulses in optical fibers

Interaction of pulses in optical fibers is analyzed by solving the scattering problem associated with the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. It is shown that two pulses without initial phase modulation can generate moving daughter solitons. © 2002 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (060.4370) Nonlinear optics, fibers; (190.5530) Pulse propagation and solitons Interaction of solitons in optical fibers results in a variation of a separation distance and even in a formation of additional solitons with small amplitudes ("daughter pulses"). Both these factors constrict the repetition rate, which is an important characteristics of optical communication systems. We consider the influence of different initial parameters to the soliton interaction. We show that nonlin­ ear interference between pulses results in non-trivial dynamics. For example, depending on the separation distance, two pulses without initial phase modulation can generate a number of moving solitons. It is also shown that the relative constant phase is also important for the interaction dynamics.