Light-matter interaction induces a shadow vortex

Phys Rev E. 2016 May;93(5):050201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.93.050201. Epub 2016 May 16.

Abstract

By sending a light beam on a homeotropic nematic liquid-crystal cell subjected to a voltage with a photosensitive wall, a stable matter vortex can be induced at the center of the beam. When the applied voltage is decreased, the vortex disappears from the illuminated region; however, the system shows a stationary molecular texture. Based on a forced Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equation, we show that the vortex with a core of exponentially suppressed amplitude always remains in a shadow region below instability threshold and that the observed texture is induced by its phase distribution. This is a different type of vortex phase singularity solution. Numerical simulations and experimental observations show a quite fair agreement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't