Different reorientational regimes in a liquid crystalline medium undergoing multiple irradiation

We present a numerical approach to the nemato-elasticity differential equation in a nematic liquid crystal cell when irradiated with multiple gaussian beams. Solutions have been carried out on a configuration with two coplanar beams illuminating the sample in order to compare it with particular nonlinear phenomena experimentally studied in the past. A new set of experimental measures were realized confirming the validity of the numerical model. Solutions for an instable case showing nonlocal effects are also presented as an example of the broader class of systems this approach can describe. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.