Scattering of dipole-mode vector solitons: Theory and experiment

We study, both theoretically and experimentally, the scattering properties of optical dipole-mode vector solitons - radially asymmetric composite self-trapped optical beams. First, we analyze the soliton collisions in an isotropic two-component model with a saturable nonlinearity and demonstrate that in many cases the scattering dynamics of the dipole-mode solitons allows us to classify them as ``molecules of light'' - extremely robust spatially localized objects which survive a wide range of interactions and display many properties of composite states with a rotational degree of freedom. Next, we study the composite solitons in an anisotropic nonlinear model that describes photorefractive nonlinearities, and also present a number of experimental verifications of our analysis.Comment: 8 pages + 4 pages of figure

Observation of dipole-mode vector solitons

We report on the first experimental observation of a novel type of optical vector soliton, a {\em dipole-mode soliton}, recently predicted theoretically. We show that these vector solitons can be generated in a photorefractive medium employing two different processes: a phase imprinting, and a symmetry-breaking instability of a vortex-mode vector soliton. The experimental results display remarkable agreement with the theory, and confirm the robust nature of these radially asymmetric two-component solitary waves.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures; pictures in the PRL version are better qualit

Multicomponent Dipole-mode Spatial Solitons

(2+1)-dimensional multicomponent spatial vector solitons with a nontrivial topological structure of their constituents was studied. The interaction of N mutually incoherent (2+1)-dimensional optical beams propagating in bulk saturable medium was considered. Stable multicomponent dipole-mode solitons with intriguing swinging dynamics was described. Results indicated that these solitary waves exhibited a symmetry-breaking instability, provided their total topological charge was nonzero

Multicomponent dipole-mode spatial solitons

We study �2 1 1�-dimensional multicomponent spatial vector solitons with a nontrivial topological structure of their constituents and demonstrate that these solitary waves exhibit a symmetry-breaking instability, provided their total topological charge is nonzero. We describe a novel type of stable multicomponent dipole-mode solitons with intriguing swinging dynamics. © 2002 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 190.5530, 190.4420. Recent progress in the study of spatial optical solitons and their interaction, as well as the extensive experimental demonstrations of stable self-focusing of light in different types of nonlinear bulk media, has opened the road for new concepts in controlling the diffraction of optical beams and designing new devices for optical switching and storage. 1 Many novel fundamental concepts in the physics of spatial optical solitons that were recently suggested are associated with vectorial interactio