Refraction of nonlinear beams by localized refractive index changes in nematic liquid crystals

Gaetano Assanto, Antonmaria A. Minzoni, Noel F. Smyth, Annette L. Worthy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The propagation of solitary waves in nematic liquid crystals in the presence of localized nonuniformities is studied. These nonuniformities can be caused by external electric fields, other light beams, or any other mechanism which results in a modified director orientation in a localized region of the liquid-crystal cell. The net effect is that the solitary wave undergoes refraction and trajectory bending. A general modulation theory for this refraction is developed, and particular cases of circular, elliptical, and rectangular perturbations are considered. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with numerical solutions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number053843
Number of pages8
JournalPhysical Review A
Volume82
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2010

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • INTERNAL OSCILLATIONS
  • SPATIAL SOLITONS
  • VECTOR SOLITONS

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