Universal Symmetry Breaking Dynamics for the Kerr Interaction of Counter-Propagating Light in Dielectric Ring Resonators

International audienceSpontaneous symmetry breaking is an important concept in many areas of physics. A fundamentally simple symmetry breaking mechanism in electrodynamics occurs between counterpropagating electromagnetic waves in ring resonators, mediated by the Kerr nonlinearity. The interaction of counterpropagating light in bi-directionally pumped microresonators finds application in the real-isation of optical nonreciprocity (for optical diodes), studies of PT-symmetric systems, and the generation of counter-propagating solitons. Here, we present comprehensive analytical and dy-namical models for the nonlinear Kerr-interaction of counter-propagating light in a dielectric ring resonator. In particular, we study discontinuous behaviour in the onset of spontaneous symmetry breaking, indicating divergent sensitivity to small external perturbations. These results can be applied to realise, for example, highly sensitive near-field or rotation sensors. We then generalise to a time-dependent model, which predicts new types of dynamical behaviour, including oscillatory regimes that could enable Kerr-nonlinearity-driven all-optical oscillators. The physics of our model can be applied to other systems featuring Kerr-type interaction between two distinct modes, such as for light of opposite circular polarisation in nonlinear resonators, which are commonly described by coupled Lugiato-Lefever equations