Optical laminate, light guide element, and image display apparatus

An optical laminate comprising:

• a first cholesteric liquid crystal layer and a second cholesteric liquid crystal layer that are obtained by immobilizing a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase and have a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis derived from a liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating in at least one in-plane direction,
• wherein the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer and the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer are laminated,
• in the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer and the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer,
• turning directions of circularly polarized light to be reflected are opposite to each other,
• helical pitches as lengths in a thickness direction over which the liquid crystal compound that is helically turned and laminated in the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase turns by 360° are different from each other,
• rotation directions of the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound that continuously rotates in at least the one in-plane direction in the liquid crystal alignment pattern are opposite to each other,
• in a case where a helical pitch of the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by P1 and a helical pitch of the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by P2, P1<P2,
• in a case where, in the liquid crystal alignment pattern, a length over which the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound rotates by 180° in the one in-plane direction in which the direction of the optical axis derived from the liquid crystal compound changes while continuously rotating is set as a single period, a length of the single period of the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by Λ1, and a length of the single period of the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer is represented by Λ2, Λ1<Λ2,
• the optical laminate does not have a cholesteric liquid crystal layer which has the same helical pitch as the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer and in which the turning direction of circularly polarized light to be reflected is opposite from that of the first cholesteric liquid crystal layer, and the optical laminate does not have a cholesteric liquid crystal layer which has the same helical pitch as the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer and in which the turning direction of circularly polarized light to be reflected is opposite from that of the second cholesteric liquid crystal layer.