Thermo-optic soliton routing in nematic liquid crystals

We demonstrate thermo-optic control on the propagation of optical spatial solitons in nematic liquid crystals. By varying the sample temperature, both linear and nonlinear optical properties of the reorientational material are modulated by acting on the refractive indices, the birefringence, and the elastic response. As a result, both the trajectory and transverse confinement of spatial solitons can be adjusted, demonstrating an effective means to tune and readdress self-induced optical waveguides.