Nonlinear Dynamics in Semiconductor Lasers 2023 - Abstract

Marconi, Mathias

Direct measurement of critical slowing down in a low-dissipation optical system at a tipping point

The dynamics of complex systems can exhibit abrupt changes also known as tipping points. These tipping points can lead to catastrophic events and crisis at different scales, that we are currently facing in the context of global climate change for instance. Reliable indicators of the incoming tipping points are therefore needed in order to predict, anticipate and potentially avoid their dramatic consequences. An observable phenomenon occurring close to a bifurcation is known as the critical slowing down (CSD), which corresponds to a divergence of the relaxation time of the system as we approach asymptotically the bifurcation point. However, even if CSD is a well-known phenomenon in dynamical systems, its direct experimental measurement is a challenging task. The observation and analysis of CSD in complex physical systems hashave therefore remained elusive. In this work, we implement an experimental laser platform that allows to provide a direct measurement of the CSD via the application of a perturbation in the variables of the system. We assess for the first time the qualitative change in the CSD when an experimental parameter is swept and when the duration of the perturbation is varied.