Dancing vortices in a driven nematic liquid crystal cell: Theory and experiment.

Abstract

The interaction of light beams with helical defects in optical materials generates optical vortices. Understanding and manipulating the dynamics of helical defects allows for the creation of versatile sources of optical vortex beams. Using a magnetic ring on a nematic liquid crystal cell, we trapped helical defects identified as matter vortices. We observe oscillatory rotating and beating matter vortices by applying a low-frequency voltage. Experimentally, we determine the region of parameters where these vortices are observed. The amplitude of oscillatory rotating vortices decays with the inverse of the voltage frequency. We propose an adequate amplitude equation, which allows us to describe the vortex dynamics; theoretical findings have a qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.