Breathing Cavity Solitons and Polychromatic Dispersive Radiation in a Near-Zero Dispersion Kerr Resonator

Recent experiments have demonstrated that Kerr cavity solitons (CSs) and corresponding optical frequency combs can display novel dynamics and characteristics under conditions of near-zero-dispersion driving [1] , [2] . Whilst experimental studies have focused on stable CSs, theoretical studies have revealed that near-zero-dispersion conditions can also affect CS instabilities. In particular, breathing zero-dispersion CSs have been predicted to emit polychromatic dispersive waves [3] – in stark contrast to the sharp spectral peak that accompanies a stable CS. Furthermore, the presence of strong third-order dispersion has been theoretically proposed to impact on the range of parameters over which CSs are unstable and exist [4] . However, no experimental studies have yet confirmed these predictions. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the interplay between CS breathers and dispersive waves, and we experimentally study the impact of third-order dispersion on CS instabilities.