Formation of steady-state cylindrical thermal lenses in dark stripes

Characteristic features of the formation of cylindrical laser-induced thermal steady-state lenses in the dark stripes associated with spatial dark-soliton propagation are analyzed and verified experimentally in an ethanol-dye solution. Positive focusing power perpendicular to the dark stripe is ensured by defocusing along the axis of this stripe and depends strongly on the shape of the light-beam profile and the orientation of the dark stripe within it.