The pioneering paper 'Optical rogue waves' by Solli et al (2007 Nature 450 1054) started the new subfield in optics. This work launched a great deal of activity on this novel subject. As a result, the initial concept has expanded and has been enriched by new ideas. Various approaches have been suggested since then. A fresh look at the older results and new discoveries has been undertaken, stimulated by the concept of 'optical rogue waves'. Presently, there may not by a unique view on how this new scientific term should be used and developed. There is nothing surprising when the opinion of the experts diverge in any new field of research. After all, rogue waves may appear for a multiplicity of reasons and not necessarily only in optical fibers and not only in the process of supercontinuum generation. We know by now that rogue waves may be generated by lasers, appear in wide aperture cavities, in plasmas and in a variety of other optical systems. Theorists, in turn, have suggested many other situations when rogue waves may be observed. The strict definition of a rogue wave is still an open question. For example, it has been suggested that it is defined as 'an optical pulse whose amplitude or intensity is much higher than that of the surrounding pulses'. This definition (as suggested by a peer reviewer) is clear at the intuitive level and can be easily extended to the case of spatial beams although additional clarifications are still needed. An extended definition has been presented earlier by N Akhmediev and E Pelinovsky (2010 Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 185 1-4). Discussions along these lines are always useful and all new approaches stimulate research and encourage discoveries of new phenomena. Despite the potentially existing disagreements, the scientific terms 'optical rogue waves' and 'extreme events' do exist. Therefore coordination of our efforts in either unifying the concept or in introducing alternative definitions must be continued. From this point of view, a number of the scientists who work in this area of research have come together to present their research in a single review article that will greatly benefit all interested parties of this research direction. Whether the authors of this 'roadmap' have similar views or different from the original concept, the potential reader of the review will enrich their knowledge by encountering most of the existing views on the subject. Previously, a special issue on optical rogue waves (2013 J. Opt. 15 060201) was successful in achieving this goal but over two years have passed and more material has been published in this quickly emerging subject. Thus, it is time for a roadmap that may stimulate and encourage further research.

The dynamics of wave packets in the fractional Schrödinger equation is still an open problem. The difficulty stems from the fact that the fractional Laplacian derivative is essentially a nonlocal operator. We investigate analytically and numerically the propagation of optical beams in the fractional Schrödinger equation with a harmonic potential. We find that the propagation of one- and two-dimensional input chirped Gaussian beams is not harmonic. In one dimension, the beam propagates along a zigzag trajectory in real space, which corresponds to a modulated anharmonic oscillation in momentum space. In two dimensions, the input Gaussian beam evolves into a breathing ring structure in both real and momentum spaces, which forms a filamented funnel-like aperiodic structure. The beams remain localized in propagation, but with increasing distance display an increasingly irregular behavior, unless both the linear chirp and the transverse displacement of the incident beam are zero.

Abstract:We investigate numerically interactions between two in-phase or out-of-phase Airy beams and nonlinear accelerating beams in Kerr and saturable nonlinear media in one transverse dimension. We discuss different cases in which the beams with different intensities are launched into the medium, but accelerate in opposite directions. Since both the Airy beams and nonlinear accelerating beams possess infinite oscillating tails, we discuss interactions between truncated beams, with finite energies. During interactions we see solitons and soliton pairs generated that are not accelerating. In general, the higher the intensities of interacting beams, the easier to form solitons; when the intensities are small enough, no solitons are generated. Upon adjusting the interval between the launched beams, their interaction exhibits different properties. If the interval is large relative to the width of the first lobes, the generated soliton pairs just propagate individually and do not interact much. However, if the interval is comparable to the widths of the maximum lobes, the pairs strongly interact and display varied behavior.

We investigate numerically the interactions of two in-phase and out-of-phase Airy beams and nonlinear (NL) accelerating beams in Kerr and saturable NL media, in one transverse dimension. We find that bound and unbound soliton pairs, as well as single solitons, can form in such interactions. If the interval between two incident beams is large relative to the width of their first lobes, the generated soliton pairs just propagate individually and do not interact. However, if the interval is comparable to the widths of the maximum lobes, the pairs interact and display varied behavior. In the in-phase case, they attract each other and exhibit stable bound, oscillating, and unbound states, after shedding some radiation initially. In the out-of-phase case, they repel each other and, after an initial interaction, fly away as individual solitons. While the incident beams display acceleration, the solitons or soliton pairs generated from those beams do not.

We study periodic inversion and phase transition of normal, displaced, and chirped finite energy Airy beams propagating in a parabolic potential. This propagation leads to an unusual oscillation: for half of the oscillation period the Airy beam accelerates in one transverse direction, with the main Airy beam lobe leading the train of pulses, whereas in the other half of the period it accelerates in the opposite direction, with the main lobe still leading - but now the whole beam is inverted. The inversion happens at a critical point, at which the beam profile changes from an Airy profile to a Gaussian one. Thus, there are two distinct phases in the propagation of an Airy beam in the parabolic potential - the normal Airy and the single-peak Gaussian phase. The length of the single-peak phase is determined by the size of the decay parameter: the smaller the decay, the smaller the length. A linear chirp introduces a transverse displacement of the beam at the phase transition point, but does not change the location of the point. A quadratic chirp moves the phase transition point, but does not affect the beam profile. The two-dimensional case is discussed briefly, being equivalent to a product of two one-dimensional cases.