ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some recent works and developments on optical simulations and analogies with quantum mechanical/quantum field theory effects. It focuses on optical waveguide arrays that allow for the optical simulation of non-relativistic dynamics of quantum particles. The chapter analyses optical analogs of relativistic Dirac solitons, tachyons, and neutrinos. It discusses developments in the theoretical understanding of novel dispersive waves in nonlinear media, such as negative-frequency resonant radiation. Waveguide arrays have been used intensively to simulate the evolution of a nonrelativistic quantum mechanical particle in a periodic potential. Constructing a theory of supercontinuum generation has proved to be crucial in order to understand and control the dynamics of pulses in optical fibers.
