Similariton generation in fibre optic amplifiers and lasers

Self similar solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations have been found with applications in many areas of Physics. The techniques used to find these solutions have been recently been applied to develop solutions of the Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation (NLSE) governing optical pulse propagation, where they are known as similaritons. This talk will discuss not only the well known parabolic and hyperbolic similaritons but also self similar solutions appropriate to amplifiers with gain saturation, together with their applications in high power amplifiers, and similariton lasers.