Mixed perturbative expansion: the validity of a model for the cascading

A new type of perturbative expansion is built in order to give a rigorous derivation and to clarify the range of validity of some commonly used model equations. This model describes the evolution of the modulation of two short and localized pulses, fundamental and second harmonic, propagating together in a bulk uniaxial crystal with non-vanishing second order susceptibility $\chi^(2)$ and interacting through the nonlinear effect known as ``cascading'' in nonlinear optics. The perturbative method mixes a multi-scale expansion with a power series expansion of the susceptibility, and must be carefully adapted to the physical situation. It allows the determination of the physical conditions under which the model is valid: the order of magnitude of the walk-off, phase-mismatch,and anisotropy must have determined values.Comment: arxiv version is already officia

Hopf instantons, Chern-Simons vortices, and Heisenberg ferromagnets

The dimensional reduction of the three-dimensional fermion-Chern-Simons model (related to Hopf maps) of Adam et el. is shown to be equivalent to (i) either the static, fixed--chirality sector of our non-relativistic spinor-Chern-Simons model in 2+1 dimensions, (ii) or a particular Heisenberg ferromagnet in the plane.Comment: 4 pages, Plain Tex, no figure

Fifth-order nonlinear susceptibility: Effect of third-order resonances in a classical theory

We compute the fifth-order nonlinear susceptibility in the frame of a classical model based on an anharmonic oscillator, taking into account the local field corrections. A third-harmonic resonance is evidenced, which explains the strong enhancement of some measured values of the corresponding nonlinear index and its sign changes with the wavelength. The ratio between the fifth-order nonlinear index and the fifth-order nonlinear absorption is computed and is in good agreement with experimental data measured in carbon disulfide CS2

Degenerate multi-wave mixing inside a 4f imaging system in presence of nonlinear absorption

We report on multiwave mixing inside a 4f coherent imaging system using an I-scan configuration and taking into account nonlinear absorption inside materials. A simple mathematical calculation is presented in order to explain the non-linearly induced diffracted beam distribution in the image plane. The influence of nonlinear absorption is discussed and a study on the sensitivity of the technique and experimental methodology for absorbing materials is proposed. We provide also a simple quadratic relation to characterize the cubic nonlinear refraction for absorbing media

Determination of the third- and fifth-order optical nonlinearities: the general case

We compute the evolution of the intensity (I) and the phase (phi) of a beam propagating in a nonlinear (NL) isotropic medium exhibiting third- and fifth-order NL optical characteristics. All formulas are analytic, but the general case requires a numerical inversion by means of Newton’s method. The solutions may differ if some coefficients vanish, so they are given in all cases up to the fifth-order nonlinearities. The analytical relations allow us to fit the experimental data using the recently introduced D4sigma-Z-scan method. Carbon disulfide is tested at 532 and 1,064 nm in the picosecond regime deducing NL coefficients related to third- and fifth-order optical susceptibilities

The influence of twin boundaries on the Flux Line Lattice structure in YBaCuO: a study by Small Angle Neutron Scattering

The influence of Twin Boundaries (TB) on the Flux Line Lattice(FLL) structure was investigated by Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS). YBaCuO single crystals possessing different TB densities were studied. The SANS experiments show that the TB strongly modify the structure of the FLL. The flux lines meander as soon as the magnetic field makes an angle with the TB direction. According to the value of this angle but also to the ratio of the flux lines density over the TB density, one observes that the FLL exhibits two different unit cells in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. One is the classical hexagonal and anisotropic cell while the other is affected by an additional deformation induced by the TB. We discuss a possible relation between this deformation and the increase of the critical current usually observed in heavily twinned samples.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys Rev

Filamentation of light in carbon disulfide

We report experimental observation of light filamentation in carbon disulfide (CS2). Accurate measurements of the nonlinear index show an unusual saturation law of the Kerr effect, which is used to build a model of light propagation in CS2, which describes the filamentation in good agreement with experimental observations

Finite-distance singularities in the tearing of thin sheets

We investigate the interaction between two cracks propagating in a thin sheet. Two different experimental geometries allow us to tear sheets by imposing an out-of-plane shear loading. We find that two tears converge along self-similar paths and annihilate each other. These finite-distance singularities display geometry-dependent similarity exponents, which we retrieve using scaling arguments based on a balance between the stretching and the bending of the sheet close to the tips of the cracks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Roles of resonance and dark irradiance for infrared photorefractive self-focusing and solitons in bi-polar InP:Fe

This paper shows experimental evidence of photorefractive steady state self-focusing in InP:Fe for a wide range of intensities, at both 1.06 and 1.55$\mu$m. To explain those results, it is shown that despite the bi-polar nature of InP:Fe where one photocarrier and one thermal carrier are to be considered, the long standing one photocarrier model for photorefractive solitons can be usefully applied. The relationship between the dark irradiance stemming out of this model and the known resonance intensity is then discussed

(In)finite extensions of algebras from their Inonu-Wigner contractions

The way to obtain massive non-relativistic states from the Poincare algebra is twofold. First, following Inonu and Wigner the Poincare algebra has to be contracted to the Galilean one. Second, the Galilean algebra is to be extended to include the central mass operator. We show that the central extension might be properly encoded in the non-relativistic contraction. In fact, any Inonu-Wigner contraction of one algebra to another, corresponds to an infinite tower of abelian extensions of the latter. The proposed method is straightforward and holds for both central and non-central extensions. Apart from the Bargmann (non-zero mass) extension of the Galilean algebra, our list of examples includes the Weyl algebra obtained from an extension of the contracted SO(3) algebra, the Carrollian (ultra-relativistic) contraction of the Poincare algebra, the exotic Newton-Hooke algebra and some others. The paper is dedicated to the memory of Laurent Houart (1967-2011).Comment: 7 pages, revtex style; v2: Minor corrections, references added; v3: Typos correcte