title: Bistability with optical beams propagating in a reorientational medium.
abstract: We investigated bistability with light beams in reorientational nematic liquid crystals. For a range of input powers, beams can propagate as either diffracting or self-trapped, the latter corresponding to spatial solitons. The first-order transition in samples exhibiting abrupt self-focusing with a threshold is in agreement with a simple model.
authors: NooEL-Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab, University "Roma Tre", 00146 Rome, Italy.
authors: Nina
authors: N
authors: Kravets
authors: NooEL-Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab, University "Roma Tre", 00146 Rome, Italy.
authors: Armando
authors: A
authors: Piccardi
authors: NooEL-Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab, University "Roma Tre", 00146 Rome, Italy.
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Alberucci
authors: Zepler Institute, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Oleksandr
authors: O
authors: Buchnev
authors: Zepler Institute, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Malgosia
authors: M
authors: Kaczmarek
authors: NooEL-Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab, University "Roma Tre", 00146 Rome, Italy.
authors: Gaetano
authors: G
authors: Assanto