Acousto-optics of liquid crystals: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

The most important results of the recent theoretical and experimental studies in the field of acousto-optics of liquid crystals (LCs) in research lines initiated by the pioneering studies of Professor A.P. Kapustin at the Institute of Crystallography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and carried out at the Acoustic Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences are generalized and analyzed. These lines include the study of the nature of acoustically induced supramolecular structures in nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) and cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) and the development of physical bases of practical LC acousto-optics, related to the detection of acoustic signals.