Parity breaking with a nonlinear optical double-slit configuration

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Kerr nonlinearity and multi-photon absorption in a double-slit optical setup cause parity breaking, leading to measurable shifts in interference patterns that can be used to characterize nonlinear materials.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model predicting interference pattern shifts due to nonlinearity, enabling measurement of Kerr and multi-photon coefficients.

Findings

Nonlinearity breaks spatial symmetry in the interference pattern.

The model accurately predicts intensity profiles across various parameters.

Potential for nonlinear material characterization through pattern translation.

Abstract

We consider an optical nonlinear interferometric setup based on Young's double-slit configuration where a nonlinear material is placed exactly after one of the two slits. We examine the effects of Kerr nonlinearity and multi-photon absorption in the resulting interference pattern. The presence of nonlinearity breaks the transverse spatial symmetry of the system, resulting to a modified intensity pattern at the observation plane as a function of the incident intensity. Our theoretical model, based on the modification of the optical path due to the presence of nonlinearity, is surprisingly accurate in predicting the intensity profile of the main lobes for a wide range of parameters. We discuss about potential applications of our model in nonlinear interferometry. Specifically, we show that it is possible to measure both the multi-photon and the Kerr coefficients of a nonlinear material based on the spatial translation of the interference pattern as a function of the incident intensity.