Filamentation and Undulation of Self-Focused Laser Beams in Liquid Crystals
1993; Institute of Physics; Volume: 23; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1209/0295-5075/23/4/001
ISSN1286-4854
AutoresErez Braun, Luc P. Faucheux, Albert Libchaber, David W. McLaughlin, David J. Muraki, Michael Shelley,
Tópico(s)Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
ResumoWe describe an experimental and theoretical study of a low-power, continuous-wave laser beam interacting with a nematic liquid crystal. Experimental observations show strong self-focusing, the onset of beam undulation and filamentation. A coupled-field model is presented and reduced through a separation of scales perturbation argument. This analysis shows that the light-nematic interaction is very different from conventional self-focusing in Kerr (nonlinear Schrödinger) media, and it provides a new optical setting for the study of the physics of complex nonlinear patterns.
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