Self-Organized Pattern Formation in Single-Feedback Systems

Abstract

Chapter 7 treats the case when a multimode waveguide is induced not by a single but several optical beams and vector solitons in a photorefractive medium can be constructed. In this case the participating modes are not guided in a passive way but interact with the medium and contribute equally to the formation of the required refractive-index profile. This is a substantially different approach from that described in the preceding chapters since two or more beams copropagate in a joint refractive-index profile generated by themselves. Vector solitons can therefore be considered as molecules of light, and their stability is one of the most crucial questions in complex spatial-soliton optics. We show that combination of higher-order modes with the fundamental Gaussian mode can lead to stabilization of multipole vector solitons, whereas vortex beams, as a general rule, decay into multipole vector solitons. Moreover, we demonstrate the stabilization of multicomponent solitons and soliton clusters.