This book addresses a subject at the crossing point of two lines of investi- gation - synergetics and modern nonlinear optics. First, the book is devoted to optical patterns that previously were mainly attributed to the display of instabilities of homogeneous field distributions. Second, we deal with optical bistability and hysteresis, which historically were studied predominantly for point (lumped, spatially nondistributed) systems. In the book, which seems to be the first monograph devoted to opti- cal patterns, I attempt to demonstrate that the variety of optical patterns and other...

This book addresses a subject at the crossing point of two lines of investi- gation - synergetics and modern nonlinear optics. First, the book is devoted to optical patterns that previously were mainly attributed to the display of instabilities of homogeneous field distributions. Second, we deal with optical bistability and hysteresis, which historically were studied predominantly for point (lumped, spatially nondistributed) systems. In the book, which seems to be the first monograph devoted to opti- cal patterns, I attempt to demonstrate that the variety of optical patterns and other...