Symmetric caustics and Curie's principle
Volume 62 / 2003
Banach Center Publications 62 (2003), 135-142
DOI: 10.4064/bc62-0-10
Abstract
Physical systems producing caustics may possess symmetries. In that case the relation between the symmetry of the system, considered as a whole, and the symmetry of the caustic follow a very general symmetry principle, the Curie principle. We give various examples of application of the Curie principle to caustics produced by the deflection of light in liquid crystals: the so called squint effect, the visualization of a new type of roll structure, etc. We show also that the Curie principle applies to physical systems having multiple stable states (variants).
