Raman-induced Kerr effect in single crystals

The first experimental and theoretical investigations of the Raman-induced Kerr effect (RIKE) in crystals are reported. A Stokes continuum in the 725–740 nm range was used to record the A(LO) vibration at 817 cm^–1 in the RIKE spectrum of an LiIO₃ crystal. Allowance was made for the appearance of a polariton field and possible manifestation of the optical activity in the description of the steady-state effect by means of general RIKE equations for noncentrosymmetric uniaxial crystals. Moreover, a transient probe-beam method for the determination of the time T₂ was considered and it was compared with analogous coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering methods.