We introduce an effectively one-dimensional (1D) model of a bosonic gas of particles carrying collinear dipole moments which are induced by an external polarizing field with the strength periodically modulated along the coordinate, which gives rise t
o an effective nonlocal nonlinear lattice in the condensate. The existence, shape and stability of bright solitons, appearing in this model, are investigated by means of the variational approximation and numerical methods. The mobility of solitons and interactions between them are studied too.
The theory of nonlinear diffraction of intensive light beams propagating through photorefractive media is developed. Diffraction occurs on a reflecting wire embedded in the nonlinear medium at relatively small angle with respect to the direction of t
he beam propagation. It is shown that this process is analogous to the generation of waves by a flow of a superfluid past an obstacle. The ``equation of state of such a superfluid is determined by the nonlinear properties of the medium. On the basis of this hydrodynamic analogy, the notion of the ``Mach number is introduced where the transverse component of the wave vector plays the role of the fluid velocity. It is found that the Mach cone separates two regions of the diffraction pattern: inside the Mach cone oblique dark solitons are generated and outside the Mach cone the region of ``ship waves is situated. Analytical theory of ``ship waves is developed and two-dimensional dark soliton solutions of the equation describing the beam propagation are found. Stability of dark solitons with respect to their decay into vortices is studied and it is shown that they are stable for large enough values of the Mach number.
The theory of optical dispersive shocks generated in propagation of light beams through photorefractive media is developed. Full one-dimensional analytical theory based on the Whitham modulation approach is given for the simplest case of sharp step-l
ike initial discontinuity in a beam with one-dimensional strip-like geometry. This approach is confirmed by numerical simulations which are extended also to beams with cylindrical symmetry. The theory explains recent experiments where such dispersive shock waves have been observed.
