Ultrashort pulses propagation through different approaches of the Split-Step Fourier method

Simulating the propagation of optical pulses in a single mode optical fiber is of fundamental importance for studying the several effects that may occur within such medium when it is under some linear and nonlinear effects. In this work, we simulate it by implementing the nonlinear Schrödinger equation using the Split-Step Fourier method in some of its approaches. Then, we compare their running time, algorithm complexity and accuracy regarding energy conservation of the optical pulse. We note that the method is simple to implement and presents good results of energy conservation, besides low temporal cost. We observe a greater precision for the symmetrized approach, although its running time can be up to 126% higher than the other approaches, depending on the parameters set. We conclude that the time window must be adjusted for each length of propagation in the fiber, so that the error regarding energy conservation during propagation can be reduced.