Statistical mechanics and pressure of composite multimoded weakly nonlinear optical systems

Abstract

Statistical mechanics can provide a versatile theoretical framework for investigating the collective dynamics of weakly nonlinear waves-settings that can be utterly complex to describe otherwise. In optics, composite systems arise due to interactions between different frequencies and/or polarizations. The purpose of this work is to develop a thermodynamic theory that takes into account the synergistic action of multiple components. We find that the type of the nonlinearity involved can have important implications in the thermalization process and, hence, can lead to different thermal equilibrium conditions. Importantly, we derive closed-form expressions for the actual optomechanical pressure that is exerted on the system. In particular, the total optomechanical pressure is the sum of the partial pressures due to each component. Our results can be applied to a variety of weakly nonlinear optical settings such as multimode fibers, bulk waveguides, photonic lattices, and coupled microresonators. We present two specific examples, where two colors interact in a waveguide array with either a cubic or quadratic nonlinearity.