title: Three-dimensional structures in nonlinear cavities containing left-handed materials.
abstract: We study the coupling between negative diffraction and direct dispersion in a nonlinear ring cavity containing slabs of Kerr nonlinear right-handed and left-handed materials. Within the mean field approximation, we show that a portion of the homogeneous response curve is affected by a three-dimensional modulational instability. We show numerically that the light distribution evolves through a sequence of three-dimensional dissipative structures with different lattice symmetry. These structures are unstable with respect to the upswitching process, leading to a premature transition to the upper branch in the homogeneous hysteresis cycle.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tassin
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van der Sande
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Veretenov
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kockaert
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Veretennicoff
authors.forename: Mustapha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tlidi