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

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 t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2010-11, Vol.82 (5), Article 053843
Main Authors: Assanto, Gaetano, Minzoni, Antonmaria A., Smyth, Noel F., Worthy, Annette L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
BEAMS
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CRYSTALS
DISTURBANCES
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FLUIDS
GRAIN ORIENTATION
LIQUID CRYSTALS
LIQUIDS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
MICROSTRUCTURE
MODULATION
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
ORIENTATION
PHOTON BEAMS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS
REFRACTION
REFRACTIVE INDEX
VISIBLE RADIATION
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1050-2947
1094-1622
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.82.053843