4.8 Article

Interaction and co-assembly of optical and topological solitons

Journal

NATURE PHOTONICS
Volume 16, Issue 6, Pages 454-+

Publisher

NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41566-022-01002-1

Keywords

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Funding

  1. National Science Foundation [DMR-1810513]
  2. ARSS (Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS) [P1-0099]
  3. European Union [834256]
  4. COST European Topology Interdisciplinary Action [EUTOPIA CA17139]
  5. United States' Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Fellowship
  6. Technology Licensing and Commercialization Fellowship
  7. Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) [834256] Funding Source: Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)

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Researchers demonstrate systems in which optical solitons coexist and interact with topological solitonic structures localized in the molecular alignment field of a soft birefringent medium. The findings could lead to solitonic tractor beams and new light-matter self-patterning phenomena.
Solitons attract a great deal of interest in many fields, ranging from optics to fluid mechanics, cosmology, particle physics and condensed matter. However, solitons of these very different types rarely coexist and interact with each other. Here we develop a system that hosts optical solitons coexisting with topological solitonic structures localized in the molecular alignment field of a soft birefringent medium. We experimentally demonstrate and theoretically explain optomechanical interactions between such optical and topological solitons, mediated by the local transfer of momentum between light and matter and the nonlocal orientational elasticity of the liquid-crystal phase used in our system. We show that the delicate balance arising from these different contributions to the optomechanical force enables facile dynamical control and spatial localization of topological solitons. Our findings reveal unusual solitonic tractor beams and emergent light-matter self-patterning phenomena that could aid in creating new breeds of nonlinear photonic materials and devices. Researchers demonstrate systems in which optical solitons coexist and interact with topological solitonic structures localized in the molecular alignment field of a soft birefringent medium. The findings could lead to solitonic tractor beams and new light-matter self-patterning phenomena.

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