Cyprych, KonradJung, Pawel SIzdebskaya, YanaShvedov, VladlenChristodoulides, Demetrios NKrolikowski, Wieslaw2020-03-300146-9592http://hdl.handle.net/1885/202497We study experimentally the interaction of mutually incoherent bright spatial solitons in dye-doped nematic liquid crystals (LCs). The dye-induced light absorption results in a complex nonlinear optical response of the LC having spatially nonlocal focusing and defocusing contributions. The competition between both nonlinearities leads to the separation-dependent soliton interaction with repulsion of distant and attraction of closely placed solitons.Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) (NPRP 9-020-1-006); Polish Ministry of Higher Education (“Mobility Plus”); Narodowe Centrum Nauki (NCN) (2016/23/D/ ST5/00278).4 pagesapplication/pdfen-AU© 2019 Optical Society of America2019-01-0710.1364/OL.44.0002672019-11-25