Nonlinear optical dynamics in nonideal gases of interacting colloidal nanoparticles

R. El-Ganainy*, D. N. Christodoulides, E. M. Wright, W. M. Lee, K. Dholakia

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We show that many-body effects in stabilized nanocolloidal suspensions can have a profound effect on their optical nonlinearity. By considering the screened Coulomb repulsions between nanoparticles, we find that the nonlinear optical behavior of these colloids can range from polynomial to exponential depending on their composition and chemistry. The dynamics and stability properties of optical beams propagating in such nonideal gas environments of interacting colloidal particles are investigated. Our analysis provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the recently observed super-Kerr nonlinear optical response of such systems.

Original languageEnglish
Article number053805
JournalPhysical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Volume80
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Nov 2009
Externally publishedYes

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