title: Bilateral symmetry breaking in nonlinear circular cylinders.
abstract: Symmetry breaking is a common phenomenon in nonlinear systems, it refers to the existence of solutions that do not preserve the original symmetries of the underlying system. In nonlinear optics, symmetry breaking has been previously investigated in a number of systems, usually based on simplified model equations or temporal coupled mode theories. In this paper, we analyze the scattering of an incident plane wave by one or two circular cylinders with a Kerr nonlinearity, and show the existence of solutions that break a lateral reflection symmetry. Although symmetry breaking is a known phenomenon in nonlinear optics, it is the first time that this phenomenon was rigorously studied in simple systems with one or two circular cylinders.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Ya Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D004560:Electricity; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D055620:Optical Phenomena