Self-induced stimulated light scattering in nematic liquid crystals: Theory and experiment

Abstract

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the molecular collective rotation induced in a nematic liquid crystal by a laser beam, when self-induced stimulated light scattering takes place. The model is accurate enough to obtain quantitative agreement with experimental results, including the observation of optical bistability and hysteresis. Exact plane-wave expressions for energy and angular-momentum exchange between light and matter are also derived.