Seminarium Zakładu Fotoniki
sala B4.58, ul. Pasteura 5
2026-07-22 (13:15) 
dr Mario Ferraro (University of Calabria)
Thermodynamic Description of Light Propagation in Nonlinear Optical Fibers
Wykład w ramach programu IDUB MENTOR
Recent advances in nonlinear optics have revealed that light propagating in multimode optical fibers can exhibit a rich variety of collective phenomena that are naturally interpreted within the framework of statistical physics and thermodynamics. Far from being a simple collection of interacting optical modes, nonlinear multimode systems can behave as a gas of photons that undergoes thermalization, condensation, and self-organization through the interplay between Kerr nonlinearity and modal coupling.
This seminar will introduce the thermodynamic description of light propagation in nonlinear optical fibers, highlighting the analogy between multimode optical fields and many-body systems. Starting from the fundamental concepts of optical thermalization and wave turbulence, the seminar will discuss the emergence of Rayleigh–Jeans equilibrium distributions, the role of conserved quantities, and the formation of ordered states such as Kerr beam self-cleaning. Recent theoretical and experimental developments will be presented, including the concepts of optical temperature, entropy, and negative-temperature attractors, showing how thermodynamic principles provide a unified framework for understanding complex nonlinear optical dynamics. Finally, the seminar will outline current challenges and future perspectives for exploiting optical thermodynamics in high-power fiber lasers, supercontinuum generation, and specialty optical fibers.
Recent advances in nonlinear optics have revealed that light propagating in multimode optical fibers can exhibit a rich variety of collective phenomena that are naturally interpreted within the framework of statistical physics and thermodynamics. Far from being a simple collection of interacting optical modes, nonlinear multimode systems can behave as a gas of photons that undergoes thermalization, condensation, and self-organization through the interplay between Kerr nonlinearity and modal coupling.
This seminar will introduce the thermodynamic description of light propagation in nonlinear optical fibers, highlighting the analogy between multimode optical fields and many-body systems. Starting from the fundamental concepts of optical thermalization and wave turbulence, the seminar will discuss the emergence of Rayleigh–Jeans equilibrium distributions, the role of conserved quantities, and the formation of ordered states such as Kerr beam self-cleaning. Recent theoretical and experimental developments will be presented, including the concepts of optical temperature, entropy, and negative-temperature attractors, showing how thermodynamic principles provide a unified framework for understanding complex nonlinear optical dynamics. Finally, the seminar will outline current challenges and future perspectives for exploiting optical thermodynamics in high-power fiber lasers, supercontinuum generation, and specialty optical fibers.