Helmholtz solitons in power-law optical materials

Abstract

A nonlinear Helmholtz equation for optical materials with regimes of power-law type of nonlinearity is proposed. This model captures the evolution of broad beams at any angle with respect to the reference direction in a wide range of media, including some semiconductors, doped glasses, and liquid crystals. Exact analytical soliton solutions are presented for a generic nonlinearity, within which known Kerr solitons comprise a subset. Three general conservation laws are also reported. Analysis and numerical simulations examine the stability of the Helmholtz power-law solitons. A propagation feature, associated with spatial solitons in power-law media, constituting a class of oscillatory solution, is identified.