Analytical Modeling of Nonlinear Propagation in Uncompensated Optical Transmission Links

We present analytical results on the impact of nonlinear propagation in uncompensated links. We test the accuracy of our model in the context of ultradense wavelength-division-multiplexing polarization-multiplexed quadrature phase-shift keying (PM-QPSK) systems, at the Nyquist spectral efficiency limit. We show that the predicted system performance matches simulation results very accurately over a broad range of system scenarios. A simple closed-form analytical formula provides an effective tool for the quick and accurate prediction of system performance.