Extreme events and crises observed in an all-solid-state laser with modulation of losses.

We report observations of extreme events (or dissipative optical rogue waves) in a laser with a modulated parameter (cavity losses). Experimental data supporting the hypothesis that these events are related with multi-stability and external crises is presented. It is also shown that the time separation between a pulse and an extreme event can be predicted more accurately than that between pulses of average intensity, in agreement with the theoretical description and opening the road to the prediction and control of extreme optical events.

Extreme events in the Ti:sapphire laser.

We report experimental and theoretical evidence of the existence of extreme value events in the form of scarce and randomly emerging giant pulses in the femtosecond (self-pulsing or Kerr-lens mode-locked) Ti:sapphire laser. This laser displays complex dynamical behavior, including deterministic chaos, in two different regimes. The extreme value pulses are observed in the chaotic state of only one of these two regimes. The observations agree with the predictions of a well-tested theoretical model that does not include noise or self-Q-switching into its framework. This implies that, in this laser, the extreme effects have a nontrivial dynamical origin. The Ti:sapphire laser is hence revealed as a new and convenient system for the study of these effects.