Transition to space-time chaos in an optical loop with translational transport

The transition from regular patterns to space-time chaos in an optical system with nonlocal feedback is discussed. The nonlocality introduced breaks the rotational symmetry of the system which results in a scenario for the transition from regular patterns to a disordered dynamics. The different regimes are characterized both in terms of temporal and spatial correlation functions. An estimation of the active degrees of freedom versus the control parameter is performed.