Change in the refractive index of a photorefractive crystal during formation of a spatially screened soliton

A change in the refractive index of a photorefractive barium-sodium niobate crystal in an alternating electric field during the propagation of intensity-modulated coherent radiation in it is studied. It is shown experimentally that a change in the refractive index in the soliton regime in a photorefractive crystal with a small nonlocal response is independent of the external-field amplitude and intensity-modulation depth.