Optical Fréedericksz transition in liquid crystals and transfer of the orbital angular momentum of light
Abstract
Multistability, out-of-polarization-plane reorientation, and persistent oscillations have been observed in the optical Fréedericks transition in a homeotropically aligned nematic film using a normally incident linearly polarized laser beam with elliptical rather than circular cross section. These features could be ascribed to the presence of an additional optical torque connected with a transfer of the orbital angular momentum of light to the liquid crystal film. A model based on Ritz’s variational method confirms this picture.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review E
- Pub Date:
- February 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevE.69.021702
- Bibcode:
- 2004PhRvE..69b1702P
- Keywords:
-
- 42.70.Df;
- 42.65.-k;
- 61.30.Gd;
- Liquid crystals;
- Nonlinear optics;
- Orientational order of liquid crystals;
- electric and magnetic field effects on order