title: Collision and fusion of counterpropagating micrometer-sized optical beams in periodically biased photorefractive crystals.
abstract: We theoretically investigate collision of optical beams traveling in opposite directions through a centrosymmetric photorefractive crystal biased by a spatially periodic voltage. We analytically predict the fusion of counterpropagating solitons in conditions in which the applied voltage is rapidly modulated along the propagation axis, so that self-bending is suppressed by the "restoring symmetry" mechanism. Moreover, when the applied voltage is slowly modulated, we predict that the modified self-bending allows conditions in which the two beams fuse together, forming a curved light-channel splice.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, CASTI Regional Laboratory, Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerce, Università dell'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy. alessandro.ciattoni@aquila.infn.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciattoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rizza
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: DelRe