Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Nematic liquid crystals: An excellent playground for nonlocal nonlinear light localization in soft matter

  • Alessandro Alberucci*
  • , Gaetano Assanto
  • , J. Michael L. MacNeil
  • , Noel F. Smyth
  • *Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    20 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The study of optical spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals (NLC) has greatly improved the understanding of light localization in reorientational nonlocal media. We report some of the latest progress with reference to bright and dark solitary waves in NLC, bright and dark nematicons, discussing models and methods for their description and simulation. We give an account of exact and approximate solutions, as well as nematicon bistability.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number1450046
    Number of pages18
    JournalJournal of Nonlinear Optical Physics and Materials
    Volume23
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2014
    Publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Funding

    The authors thank Professor T. R. Marchant of the University of Wollongong for providing the numerical data for Fig. 3. GA acknowledges the Academy of Finland for his Finnish Distinguished Professor project, grant No. 282858.

    Keywords

    • Nonlinear optics
    • optical solitons
    • nematicons
    • liquid crystals
    • modulation theory
    • soft matter
    • 1ST-ORDER FREEDERICKSZ TRANSITION
    • SPATIAL SOLITONS
    • DARK SOLITONS
    • OPTICAL BISTABILITY
    • MODULATIONAL INSTABILITY
    • PULSE-PROPAGATION
    • BEAM-PROPAGATION
    • RADIATION LOSS
    • WAVE-GUIDES
    • MEDIA

    Publication forum classification

    • Publication forum level 1

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Nematic liquid crystals: An excellent playground for nonlocal nonlinear light localization in soft matter'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this