Self-accelerating self-trapped nonlinear beams of Maxwell's equations

We present shape-preserving self-accelerating beams of Maxwell's equations with optical nonlinearities. Such beams are exact solutions to Maxwell's equations with Kerr or saturable nonlinearity. The nonlinearity contributes to self-trapping and causes backscattering. Those effects, togethe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2012-08, Vol.20 (17), p.18827-18835
Main Authors: Kaminer, Ido, Nemirovsky, Jonathan, Segev, Mordechai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceleration
Computer Simulation
Electromagnetic Fields
Light
Models, Theoretical
Nonlinear Dynamics
Scattering, Radiation
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Summary:We present shape-preserving self-accelerating beams of Maxwell's equations with optical nonlinearities. Such beams are exact solutions to Maxwell's equations with Kerr or saturable nonlinearity. The nonlinearity contributes to self-trapping and causes backscattering. Those effects, together with diffraction effects, work to maintain shape-preserving acceleration of the beam on a circular trajectory. The backscattered beam is found to be a key issue in the dynamics of such highly non-paraxial nonlinear beams. To study that, we develop two new techniques: projection operator separating the forward and backward waves, and reverse simulation. Finally, we discuss the possibility that such beams would reflect themselves through the nonlinear effect, to complete a 'U' shaped trajectory.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/OE.20.018827