Magnetooptical control of light collapse in bulk Kerr media

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how magneto-optical effects in crystals can be used to control the nonlinear collapse of light beams in Kerr media, with numerical and experimental evidence showing acceleration or delay of collapse.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate light collapse in Kerr media using combined birefringence effects controlled by magnetic fields, a novel approach in nonlinear optics.

Findings

Numerical simulations show birefringence can accelerate or delay collapse.

Experimental observation confirms acceleration of collapse onset in YIG crystal.

Magnetic control offers a new way to manage nonlinear light propagation.

Abstract

Magneto-optical crystals allow an efficient control of the birefringence of light via the Cotton-Mouton and Faraday effects. These effects enable a unique combination of adjustable linear and circular birefringence, which, in turn, can affect the propagation of light in nonlinear Kerr media. We show numerically that the combined birefringences can accelerate, delay, or arrest the nonlinear collapse of (2+1)D beams, and report an experimental observation of the acceleration of the onset of collapse in a bulk Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) crystal in an external magnetic field.