Propagation of an Airy beam in a strongly nonlocal nonlinear media

An analytical expression of an Airy beam propagating in a strongly nonlocal nonlinear media is derived. The analytical expressions of the corresponding characteristic parameters for the Airy beam, such as the centre of gravity, the effective beam size, the curvature radius, the kurtosis parameter, and the linear momentum, have also been presented, respectively. The normalized intensity distribution and these characteristic parameters are pictorially demonstrated in the strongly nonlocal nonlinear media, respectively. It shows all the characteristic parameters versus the axial propagation distance are periodic. The period of the linear momentum versus the axial propagation distance is T = 2 pi z(0)/eta. The period of other characteristic parameters and the normalized intensity is T = pi z(0)/eta. The periodic behavior of the Airy beam in the strongly nonlocal nonlinear media has promising application in optical switch and optical micromanipulation.