A Kerr Oscillator based on Counterpropagating Light in a Microresonator

We present experimental and numerical evidence of self-switching behaviours between counterpropagating optical modes in a Kerr microresonator [1] . Switching indicates the restoration on average of symmetry in a previously symmetry-broken state [2] , [3] . The time-evolution of the electric field amplitudes, E ± , of the two counter-propagating modes is accurately described by the following coupled system of ordinary differential equations: \begin{equation*}\frac{{d{E_ \pm }}}{{dt}} = {E_{in}} - \left[ {1 + i\left( {\theta - A{{\left| {{E_ \pm }} \right|}^2} - B{{\left| {{E_ \mp }} \right|}^2}} \right)} \right]{E_ \pm }\end{equation*}