Abstract

Optical systems are macroscopic, but they are able to display relevant quantum effects, even at room temperatures. This feature makes optics special with respect to other disciplines (e.g. hydrodynamics and nonlinear chemical reactions), which are more traditional in the study of pattern formation phenomena. Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in the analysis of spatial aspects of squeezing, and of quantum effects in nonlinear optical patterns.^1-4

© 1995 Optical Society of America