Diffraction of light by ultrasound in an anisotropic medium

It is shown that the cause of the anisotropic diffraction of light is the rotation of the polarization eigenvectors under the influence of an elastic wave propagating in an anisotropic medium. A system of equations describing such anisotropic diffraction is formulated. The solutions of this system are obtained in the approximations of the Raman–Nath and Bragg diffraction cases.