Nonlinear mode coupling in whispering-gallery-mode resonators

Abstract: We present a first principle derivation of the coupled nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equations that govern the interaction between two families of modes with different transverse profiles in a generic whispering-gallery-mode resonator. We find regions of modulational instability and the existence of trains of bright solitons both in the normal and in the anomalous dispersion regime.