Numerical investigation of optically induced director oscillations in nematic liquid crystals

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2001 Aug;64(2 Pt 1):020701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.64.020701. Epub 2001 Jul 24.

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the effects induced by the passage of a linearly polarized light beam through a thin cell of homeotropic nematic liquid crystal. The light is incident at a slightly oblique angle and is polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence. Experiments in this geometry have revealed a rich variety of complex, time dependent director motion. We solve numerically the director equations for the nematic and compare the results with existing experimental findings.