Observation of surface dispersive shock waves in a self-defocusing medium

We have theoretically and experimentally investigated surface dispersive shock waves (SDSWs) at the interface between a self-defocusing medium and a linear medium. We demonstrate that SDSWs can form when the linear refractive index of the self-defocusing medium is much greater than that of the linear medium, and the initial nonlinearity far outweighs diffraction. SDSWs have been observed at the interface between air and a weakly absorbing liquid when the power of the input beam far exceeds that needed to trap a surface dark soliton. We also observed the formation of SDSWs when an input beam was projected away from the interface, and observed these patterns at the curved surface.