Spatial Solitons and Shock Waves in Photorefractive Crystals with Nonlocal Nonlinearity

Abstract

An analytical model has been developed to describe both drift and diffusion mechanisms of nonlinear response (local and nonlocal components of nonlinearity) of photorefractive crystals (PRCs) on a microscopic level. Some types of stable self-consistent distributions of light intensity — bright and dark photorefractive spatial solitons — have been considered. Paths of their propagation (self-bending) have been calculated and a possibility of formation of a new type of soliton-like distributions — spatial shock waves — has been shown. Analysis of plane wave modulation instability has been performed and specific spatial scales of light distribution, resulting from self-action processes (fanning), have been calculated. All the analytical results have been confirmed using computer simulation.