title: Nonlinear competition in nematicon propagation.
abstract: We investigate the role of competing nonlinear responses in the formation and propagation of bright spatial solitons. We use nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) exhibiting both thermo-optic and reorientational nonlinearities with continuous-wave beams. In a suitably prepared dye-doped sample and dual beam collinear geometry, thermal heating in the visible affects reorientational self-focusing in the near infrared, altering light propagation and self-trapping.
authors.forename: Urszula A
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Laudyn
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwasny
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piccardi
authors.forename: Mirosław A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Karpierz
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dabrowski
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chojnowska
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alberucci
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Assanto