Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 39, Nos. 5/6, 1985. p. 621-632.
Experimental observations of solitons in stimulated Raman scattering are reported. Soliton formation resulted from the introduction of a 7r phase shift in the incident Stokes beam as predicted by theory. Pulse sharpening and retardation on propagation in the Raman medium have been observed along with amplitude diminution. The first two features were predicted and the third was not. Spontaneous soliton formation has been observed in the absense of any amplitude modulation or apparent phase shift in the optical fields, indicating that additional sets of initial conditions may result in soliton formation.