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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Controlling Flow Speeds of Microtubule-Based 3D Active Fluids Using Temperature
Published on: November 26, 2019
Temperature control of nematicon trajectories
Gaetano Assanto1, Cassandra Khan2, Armando Piccardi1
1Nonlinear Optics and OptoElectronics Lab University of Rome "Roma Tre," Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Using modulation theory, we develop a simple [(2+1)-dimensional] model to describe the synergy between the thermo-optical and reorientational responses of nematic liquid crystals to light beams to describe the routing of spatial optical solitary waves (nematicons) in such a uniaxial environment. Introducing several approximations based on the nonlocal physics of the material, we are able to predict the trajectories of nematicons and their angular steering with temperature, accounting for the energy exchange between the input beam and the medium through one-photon absorption. The theoretical results are then compared to experimental data from previous studies, showing excellent agreement.
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