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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets
Published on: February 6, 2014
Self-Organization of Light in Optical Media with Competing Nonlinearities
F Maucher1,2, T Pohl3, S Skupin4
1Joint Quantum Centre (JQC) Durham-Newcastle, Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We study the propagation of light beams through optical media with competing nonlocal nonlinearities. We demonstrate that the nonlocality of competing focusing and defocusing nonlinearities gives rise to self-organization and stationary states with stable hexagonal intensity patterns, akin to transverse crystals of light filaments. Signatures of this long-range ordering are shown to be observable in the propagation of light in optical waveguides and even in free space. We consider a specific form of the nonlinear response that arises in atomic vapor upon proper light coupling. Yet, the general phenomenon of self-organization is a generic consequence of competing nonlocal nonlinearities, and may, hence, also be observed in other settings.
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