Raman-induced mode coupling in temporal waveguides formed by short solitons

We study the propagation of optical pulses trapped inside a temporal waveguide formed by two solitons in a dispersive nonlinear medium such as an optical fiber. The solitons are short enough that they decelerate as their spectra shift continuously toward the red side because of intrapulse Raman scattering. We show that the shape of a probe pulse trapped between the two solitons evolves in a periodic fashion, while its spectrum shifts toward the blue side. We develop a coupled-mode theory showing that such changes occur because of mode coupling induced by the deceleration of the short solitons, resulting in a curved waveguide. A simplified two-mode model is used to introduce a single-parameter governing modal coupling and to find the condition under which coupling becomes weak enough that the probe pulse blueshifts its spectrum without changes in its pulse shape.