PURE POLARIZATION PERIOD-DOUBLING INSTABILITY IN A KERR-TYPE NONLINEAR RING CAVITY

The role of polarization in period-doubling instabilities of a ring cavity filled with an isotropic Kerr-type nonlinear material is investigated. The field polarization dynamics are described by means of a simplified differential model which is derived, in the good cavity limit, from the four-dimensional generalized Ikeda map arising from the cavity boundary conditions. This simplified model allows to develop a fully analytical study of the influence of polarization on the onset of the first period-doubling bifurcation. In particular, a novel type of intrinsic polarization instability is reported that constitutes a basic example of self-organized collective behavior in a two-mode nonlinear system.