Nonlocal soliton scattering in random potentials

We experimentally investigate the transport behaviour of nonlocal spatial optical solitons when launched in and interacting with propagation-invariant random potentials. The solitons are generated in nematic liquid crystals; the randomness is created by suitably engineered illumination of planar voltage-biased cells equipped with a photosensitive wall. We find that the fluctuations follow a super-diffusive trend, with the mean square displacement lowering for decreasing spatial correlation of the noise.