Self-Interaction Of Waves

The self-interaction of waves is a change in the characteristics of the wave process due to the various nonlinear phenomena induced by it in the medium.

A physical example of the inertial self-interaction of waves is the thermal defocusing of laser radiation due to a change in the refractive index of the medium when it is heated by radiation.

Sources:

The free dictionary https://www.thefreedictionary.com/

ThoughtCo. Dictionary https://www.thoughtco.com/definition