We consider a higher-order complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, with the fourth-order dispersion and cubic-quintic nonlinear terms, which can describe the propagation of an ultrashort subpicosecond or femtosecond optical pulse in an optical fiber system. We investigate the modulational instability (MI) of continuous wave solution of this equation. Several types of modulational instability gains are shown to exist in both the anomalous and normal dispersion regimes. We find that depending on the sign of the fourth-order dispersion coefficient, the MI appears for normal and anomalous dispersion regime. Simulations of the full system demonstrate that the development of the MI leads to establishment of a regular or chaotic array of pulses, a chain of well-separated peaks with continuously growing or decaying amplitudes depending on the sign of the loss/gain coefficient and higher-order dispersions terms. Comparison of the calculations with reported numerical results shows a satisfactory agreement.

• Received 4 March 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.80.066604