Breather dynamics in an optomechanical array with staggered coupling

We present an approach toward generating highly controllable breathers, using an array of staggered optomechanical cavities that feature alternating coupling strengths. Four different types of breather states as well as stable two-soliton states are demonstrated to form in such an optomechanical array, thanks to the interplay between the photon-hopping induced tunneling effect and the photon-phonon coupling in the optomechanical cell. It is seen that both their photonic and phononic wave components manifest quasi-periodic oscillatory patterns and coherent localization. We unveil that such breather dynamics can be well controlled by adjusting the coupling strength, the cavity field decay, and the number of array cells. As a result, we observe an unusual odd-even lattice effect in that stable breathers are only available when the cell number is even. We anticipate that these findings from the staggered optomechanical configuration may expand the realm of cavity optomechanics, yielding promising applications such as on-chip manipulation of light propagation.