Experimental observation of recurrence and spectral asymmetry of the two-component Akhmediev breathers in a single mode optical fibre

We report the results of experimental studies of recurrent spectral dynamics of the two component Akhmediev breathers (ABs) in a single mode optical fibre. We also provide the theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of the ABs based on the two component Manakov equations that confirm the experimental data. In particular, we observed spectral asymmetry of fundamental ABs and complex spectral evolution of second-order nondegenerate ABs.