Enhanced soliton interactions by inhomogeneous nonlocality and nonlinearity

TL;DR

This paper investigates how longitudinally varying nonlocality and nonlinearity in nematic liquid crystals influence optical soliton interactions, enabling control over soliton dynamics and collision behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a model showing how inhomogeneous nonlocality and nonlinearity can be used to manipulate soliton interactions in optical media.

Findings

Variation in nonlocality and nonlinearity affects soliton collision speed.

Engineered inhomogeneity can control soliton collision outcomes.

Enhanced or weakened interactions depend on the variation rate.

Abstract

We address the interactions between optical solitons in the system with longitudinally varying nonlocality degree and nonlinearity strength. We consider a physical model describing light propagation in nematic liquid crystals featuring a strongly nonlocal nonlinear response. We reveal that the variation of the nonlocality and nonlinearity along the propagation direction can substantially enhance or weaken the interaction between out-of-phase solitons. This phenomenon manifests itself as a slowdown or acceleration of the soliton collision dynamics in one-dimensional geometries or of the soliton spiraling rate in bulk media. Therefore, one finds that by engineering the nonlocality and nonlinearity variation rate one can control the output soliton location.