General Relativity analogues in nonlinear optical systems

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of the experimental and numerical investigations of nonlinear optical systems in relation to their analogy with some General Relativity phenomena. After a short introduction on the context of this work, the first Chapter starts with an introduction on the Newton-Schrodinger Equation and its optical analogue, then the investigations of two main effects (the analogue Newtonian gravitational interaction of two optical beams, and violent relaxation process in analogue galaxy formation) are illustrated. For these, the theoretical background is presented, then experimental setups and results are compared with numerical simulations. The second Chapter starts with a brief literature review on Penrose superradiance and its optical analogue. This is followed by the experimental setup and results of the investigation of the nonlinear optical properties of the medium and the measurement of the time stability of a vortex beam in the medium, followed by the investigation of the nonlinear interaction of a pump-probe setup by means of a four-wave mixing mechanism, giving rise to superradiant scattering. The corresponding experimental setups and results are illustrated in details, as well as the comparison with numerical simulations. A short conclusion summarises the whole work.