Thermodynamical properties in spontaneous optical pattern formations
Journal
Pacific Rim Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
With a detailed series of spontaneous optical pattern formations, we reveal the existence of thermodynamical properties in nonlinear optical systems by defining the configurational entropy from the measured patterns. A phase diagram for pattern transitions in the form of stripes, reoriented stripes, hexagons, and spots is reported experimentally and theoretically for incoherent beams in non-instantaneous anisotropic photorefractive crystals, with demonstrations in the boundary of mixed-phase states. Emergence of optical pattern transitions is shown to occur at the local minimum values of effective optical temperature, and accompanied with the change of chemical potentials.
Type
conference paper