In this work we present numerical results on the propagation of high power laser beams in nematic liquid crystals. The
optical nonlinearity of the liquid crystal gives rise to
self-focusing and the generation of spatial optical solitons. We
consider only configurations in which no bias voltage is necessary for the generation of the spatial optical soliton. One of
the configurations considered here is one where the liquid crystal twists along the thickness of the layer over an angle of
180°. This configuration leads to spiraling solitons when the beam is injected with a certain offset with respect to the
middle of the liquid crystal layer. The sign of the initial angle of the beam is depending on the sign of the offset.
Liquid crystals can switch under influence of an electric field or under influence of incident light. In this paper we
provide a mathematical description including electrical, optical and elastic torques. Depending on the applied voltage
and the incident light, bistability in the director orientation may be possible. Under certain conditions, the sequence of
applying incident TM polarized light and a static voltage allows to access different states.
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