Bistability between different dissipative solitons in nonlinear optics

This study discusses the experimental existence of two different single peak dissipative solitons displaying bistability in a nonlinear device formed by a liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) with optical feedback. The two kind of dissipative solitons are shown in this work. They differ substantially in their symmetry, as well as in their peak intensity. If used as pixels for information storage, these LS represent three-state variables, instead of the common two-state variables ("bits") that an ordinary dissipative soliton can encode. Consequently, use of these new structures would lead to an increase of log₂3 ≈ 1.585 for the information storable in a given area.