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It is shown that nonsingular light beams can generate singular birefringent patterns in homogeneous birefringent elastic media. These orientational defects of the optical-axis spatial distribution originate from an optical torque driven by a nonzero longitudinal field component. Singular radial and spin-dependent azimuthal light-induced elastic distortion patterns are described and experimentally observed in a uniform liquid-crystal film in the course of a focused circularly polarized Gaussian beam.
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Etienne Brasselet (2009) studied this question.
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