Topological optical frequency combs and dissipative Kerr super-solitons

Abstract

The presence of a nonlinear parametric processes, in particular the Kerr effect, in a photonic resonator can lead to the generation of coherent optical frequency combs and self-formation of dissipative spatiotemporal features such as Turing rolls and Kerr solitons. Coherent optical frequency combs and temporal solitons have been realized in single ring resonators, using a multitude of geometries and material platforms. Here, we theoretically propose the generation of coherent optical frequency combs and dissipative Kerr super-solitons in a two-dimensional array of coupled ring resonators that creates a synthetic magnetic field, and thereby, exhibits topological edge states for photons. We show that the presence of topological edge states in this system allows self-formation of temporal features, such as Turing rolls and Kerr supersolitons that are phase-locked and self-organized across all the rings that constitute the edge of the lattice. Furthermore, we show that the topological super-solitons observed in our system are robust against defects in the lattice. Our results could pave the way for investigations of various other temporal cavity soliton solutions in conjunction with synthetic gauge fields and topological phenomena in large arrays of coupled resonators.