Random walks and random numbers from supercontinuum generation
Résumé
We report a numerical study showing how the random intensity and phase fluctuations across the bandwidth of a broadband optical supercontinuum can be interpreted in terms of the random processes of random walks and Levy flights. We also describe how the intensity fluctuations can be applied to physical random number generation. We conclude that the optical supercontinuum provides a highly versatile means of studying and generating a wide class of random processes at optical wavelengths.