Three-dimensional solitary waves with electrically tunable direction of propagation in nematics

Production of stable multidimensional solitary waves is a grand challenge in modern science. Steering their propagation is an even harder problem. In this work we demonstrate three-dimensional solitary waves in a nematic, trajectories of which can be steered by the electric field in a plane perpendicular to the field. The steering does not modify the properties of the ground state that remains uniform. These localized waves, called director bullets, are topologically unprotected multidimensional solitons of (3+2)D type that show fore-aft and right-left asymmetry with respect to the background molecular director; the symmetry is controlled by the field. Besides bringing a fundamental novelty by adding a whole dimension to the propagation direction, the solitons can lead to applications such as targeted delivery of information and micro-cargo.