We discover the existence of vortex solitons supported by the surface between two optical lattices imprinted in Kerr-type nonlinear media. Such solitons can feature strongly noncanonical profiles, and we found that their properties are dictated by the location of the vortex core relative to the surface. The refractive index modulation forming the lattices at both sides of the interface results in complete stability of the vortex solitons in wide domains of their existence, thus introducing the first known example of stable topological solitons supported by a surface.
Fundamental and vortex solitons in a two-dimensional optically induced waveguide array are reported. In the strong localization regime, the fundamental soliton is largely confined to one lattice site, while the vortex state comprises of four fundamental modes superimposed in a square configuration with a phase structure that is topologically equivalent to the conventional vortex. However, in the weak localization regime, both the fundamental and vortex solitons spread over many lattice sites. We further show that fundamental and vortex solitons are stable against small perturbations in the str…
Vortex solitons (dark solitons) are described in self-defocusing Kerr media whose phase line singularity is not parallel to the propagation direction, but is perpendicular or tilted almost arbitrary angles, depending on the medium linear dispersion. These solitons broaden the so-called spatiotemporal optical vortices recently observed in experiments to the nonlinear realm, opening new perspectives in practical applications of optical vortices.
We analyze the salient features of vortex-ring solitons supported by cylindrically symmetric media with nonlocal thermal nonlinearity. We discover the existence of a maximum allowed topological charge for such vortex solitons to be stable on propagation: Only vortex-ring solitons with topological charge m<=2 are found to be stable. This remarkable result holds independently of the radius of the sample.
We demonstrate a robust, stable, mobile, two-dimensional (2D) spatial and three-dimensional (3D) spatiotemporal optical soliton in the core of an optical vortex, while all nonlinearities are of the cubic (Kerr) type. The 3D soliton can propagate with a constant velocity along the vortex core without any deformation. Stability of the soliton under a small perturbation is established numerically. Two such solitons moving along the vortex core can undergo a quasi-elastic collision at medium velocities. Possibilities of forming such a 2D spatial soliton in the core of a vortical beam are discussed…
We discover that a spatially localized gain supports stable vortex solitons in media with cubic nonlinearity and two-photon absorption. The interplay between nonlinear losses and gain in amplifying rings results in suppression of otherwise ubiquitous azimuthal modulation instabilities of radially symmetric vortex solitons. We uncover that the topology of the gain profile imposes restrictions on the maximal possible charge of vortex solitons. Symmetry breaking occurs at high gain levels resulting in the formation of necklace vortex solitons composed of asymmetric bright spots.
We demonstrate second-band bright vortex-array solitons in photonic lattices. This constitutes the first experimental observation of higher-band solitons in any 2D periodic system. These solitons possess complex intensity and phase structures, yet they can be excited by a simple highly-localized vortex-ring beam. Finally, we show that the linear diffraction of such beams exhibits preferential transport along the lattice axes.
The properties of vector vortex beams in vertical-cavity-surface emitting lasers with frequency-selective feedback is investigated. They are interpreted as high-order vortex solitons with a spatially non-uniform, but locally linear polarization state. In contrast to most schemes to obtain vector vortex beams relying on imprinting the polarization structure, vector vortex solitons form spontaneously due to the near polarization degeneracy in vertical-cavity devices. We observe radially, hyperbolic and spiral polarization configurations depending on small residual anisotropies in the system and …
Stability of off-site vortex solitons in a photorefractive optical lattice is analyzed. It is shown that such solitons are linearly unstable in both the high and low intensity limits. In the high-intensity limit, the vortex looks like a familiar ring vortex, and it suffers oscillatory instabilities. In the low-intensity limit, the vortex suffers both oscillatory and Vakhitov-Kolokolov instabilities. However, in the moderate-intensity regime, the vortex becomes stable if the lattice intensity or the applied voltage is above a certain threshold value. Stability regions of vortices are also deter…
We predict that a photonic crystal fiber whose strands are filled with a defocusing nonlinear medium can support stable bright and also vortex solitons if the strength of the defocusing nonlinearity grows toward the periphery of the fiber. The domains of soliton existence depend on the transverse growth rate of the filling nonlinearity and nonlinearity of the core. Remarkably, solitons exist even when the core material is linear.
Stable vortex soliton arrays in disclination-fractal systems
Xi'an Jiaotong University（西安交通大学）；Hamad Bin Khalifa University（哈马德·本·哈利法大学）；Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院空天信息创新研究院）
We analyze the existence and stability of two-component vector solitons in nematic liquid crystals for which one of the components carries angular momentum and describes a vortex beam. We demonstrate that the nonlocal, nonlinear response can dramatically enhance the field coupling leading to the stabilization of the vortex beam when the amplitude of the second beam exceeds some threshold value. We develop a variational approach to describe this effect analytically.
We address vortex solitons supported by optical lattices featuring modulation of both the linear and nonlinear refractive indices. We find that when the modulation is out-of-phase the competition between both effects results in remarkable shape transformations of the solitons which profoundly affect their properties and stability. Nonlinear refractive index modulation is found to impose restrictions on the maximal power of off-site solitons, which are shown to be stable only below a maximum nonlinearity modulation depth.
By using different continuation methods, we unveil a wide region in the parameter space of the discrete cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, where several families of stable vortex solitons coexist. All these stationary solutions have a symmetric amplitude profile and two different topological charges. We also discover the dynamical formation of a variety of 'bound-state' solutions, composed of two or more of these vortex solitons. All of these stable composite structures persist in the conservative cubic limit, for high values of their power content.
We examine the existence and stability of nonlinear discrete vortex solitons in a square lattice when the standard discrete Laplacian is replaced by a fractional version. This creates a new, effective site-energy term, and a coupling among sites, whose range depends on the value of the fractional exponent $α$, becoming effectively long-range at small $α$ values. At long-distance, it can be shown that this coupling decreases faster than exponential: $\sim \exp(- |{\bf n}|)/\sqrt{|\bf{n}|}$. In general, we observe that the stability domain of the discrete vortex solitons is extended to lower pow…
We predict the existence of spatial-spectral vortex solitons in one-dimensional periodic waveguide arrays with quadratic nonlinear response. In such vortices the energy flow forms a closed loop through the simultaneous effects of phase gradients at the fundamental frequency and second-harmonic fields, and the parametric frequency conversion between the spectral components. The linear stability analysis shows that such modes are stable in a broad parameter region.
We show the existence of stable two- and three-dimensional vortex solitons carrying multiple, spatially separated, single-charge topological dislocations nested around a vortex-ring core. Such new nonlinear states are supported by elliptical gain landscapes in focusing nonlinear media with two-photon absorption. The separation between the phase dislocations is dictated mostly by the geometry of gain landscape and it only slightly changes upon variation of the gain or absorption strength.
We show that ring-like localized gain landscapes imprinted in focusing cubic (Kerr) nonlinear media with strong two-photon absorption support new types of stable higher-order vortex solitons containing multiple phase singularities nested inside a single core. The phase singularities are found to rotate around the center of the gain landscape, with the rotation period being determined by the strength of the gain and the nonlinear absorption.
We consider settings providing the existence of stable two-dimensional (2D) dissipative solitons with zero and nonzero vorticity in optical media with the quadratic ($χ^{(2)}$) nonlinearity. To compensate the spatially uniform loss in both the fundamental-frequency (FF) and second-harmonic (SH) components of the system, a strongly localized amplifying region ("hot spot",HS), carrying the linear gain, is included, acting onto either the FF component or SH one. In both cases, the Gaussian radial gain profile supports stable fundamental dissipative solitons pinned to the HS. The structure of exis…
We study the effect of lifting the degeneracy of vortex modes with a PT symmetric defect, using discrete vortices in a circular array of nonlinear waveguides as an example. When the defect is introduced, the degenerate linear vortex modes spontaneously break PT symmetry and acquire complex eigenvalues, but nonlinear propagating modes with real propagation constants can still exist. The stability of nonlinear modes depends on both the magnitude and the sign of the vortex charge, thus PT symmetric systems offer new mechanisms to control discrete vortices.
We consider soliton formation in thermal nonlinear media bounded by rectangular cross-sections and uncover a new class of nonlinear stationary topological state. Specifically, we find that stationary higher-order vortex states in standard shapes do not exist, but rather they take the form of multiple, spatially separated single-charge singularities nested in an elliptical beam. Double-charge states are found to be remarkably robust despite their shape asymmetry and the phase-singularity splitting. States with higher topological charges are found to be unstable.
We demonstrate a possibility of the creation of stable optical solitons combining one continuous and one discrete coordinate, with embedded vorticity, in an array of planar waveguides with intrinsic cubic-quintic nonlinearity. The same system may be realized in terms of the spatiotemporal light propagation in an array of tunnel-coupled optical fibers with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity. In contrast with zero-vorticity states, semidiscrete vortex solitons do not exist without the quintic term in the nonlinearity. Two types of the solitons, \emph{viz.}, intersite- and onsite-centered ones (IC an…
Thresholdless corner vortex solitons in fractal Sierpiński topological insulators
Xi’an Jiaotong University（西安交通大学）；Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院光谱研究所）；Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University)（莫斯科物理技术学院（国立研究型大学））；Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology（斯科尔科沃科学技术研究所）；Quantum Technology Centre, Faculty of Physics, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University（莫斯科国立大学物理系量子技术中心）
We reveal the existence of asymmetric vortex solitons in ideally symmetric periodic lattices, and show how such nonlinear localized structures describing elementary circular flows can be analyzed systematically using the energy-balance relations. We present the examples of rhomboid, rectangular, and triangular vortex solitons on a square lattice, and also describe novel coherent states where the populations of clockwise and anti-clockwise vortex modes change periodically due to a nonlinearity-induced momentum exchange through the lattice. Asymmetric vortex solitons are expected to exist in dif…
We investigate existence and linear stability of coupled vortex solitons supported by cascaded four-wave mixing in a Raman active medium excited away from the resonance. We present a detailed analysis for the two- and three-component vortex solitons and demonstrate the formation of stable and unstable vortex solitons, and associated spatio-temporal helical beams, under the conditions of the simultaneous frequency and vortex comb generation.
We study the propagation dynamics of bright optical vortex solitons in nematic liquid crystals with a nonlocal reorientational nonlinear response. We investigate the role of optical birefringence on the stability of these solitons. In agreement with recent experimental observations, we show that birefringence-induced astigmatism can eventually destabilize these vortex solitons. However, for low and moderate birefringence, vortex solitons can propagate stably over experimentally relevant distances.
We report on the frst experimental observation of discrete vortex solitons in two-dimensional optically-induced photonic lattices. We demonstrate strong stabilization of an optical vortex by the lattice in a self-focusing nonlinear medium and study the generation of the discrete vortices from a broad class of singular beams.
We demonstrate that spatially inhomogeneous defocusing nonlinear landscapes with the nonlinearity coefficient growing toward the periphery as [1+abs(r)]**a support one- and two-dimensional fundamental and higher-order bright solitons, as well as vortex solitons, with algebraically decaying tails. The energy flow of the solitons converges as long as nonlinearity growth rate exceeds the dimensionality, i.e., a>D. Fundamental solitons are always stable, while multipoles and vortices are stable if the nonlinearity growth rate is large enough.
Nonlinear Bessel beams in self-defocusing media are found to be the natural, non-diffracting background where vortex solitons can be nested, interact and survive for propagation distances that are one order of magnitude larger than in the usual Gaussian or super-Gaussian backgrounds. The dynamics of the vortex solitons approaches that in the ideal, uniform background, preventing vortex spiraling and decay, which eases vortex steering for applications.
Observation of topological vortex solitons on disclinations
Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院光谱学研究所）；Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University)（莫斯科物理技术学院（国立研究型大学））；Hybrid Photonics Laboratory, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology（斯科尔科沃科学技术学院混合光子实验室）；Quantum Technology Centre, Faculty of Physics, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University（莫斯科罗蒙诺索夫大学物理系量子技术中心）
We study coherent and incoherent interactions between discrete vortex and fundamental solitons in two-dimensional photonic lattices, presenting a new scheme for all-optical routings and topological transformations of vorticities. Due to the multi-lobe intensity and step-phase structure of the discrete vortex soliton, the coherent soliton-interactions allow both solitons to be steered into multiple different possible destination ports depending on the initial phase of the discrete fundamental soliton. We show that charge-flipping of phase singularities and orbital angular momentum transfer can …
We address the formation of topological states in twisted circular waveguide arrays and find that twisting leads to important differences of the fundamental properties of new vortex solitons with opposite topological charges that arise in the nonlinear regime. We find that such system features the rare property that clockwise and counter-clockwise vortex states are nonequivalent. Focusing on arrays with C_{6v} discrete rotation symmetry, we find that a longitudinal twist stabilizes the vortex solitons with the lowest topological charges m=+-1, which are always unstable in untwisted arrays with…
By means of a systematic numerical analysis, we demonstrate that hexagonal lattices of parallel linearly-coupled waveguides, with the intrinsic cubic self-focusing nonlinearity, give rise to three species of stable semi-discrete complexes (which are continuous in the longitudinal direction), with embedded vorticity S: triangular modes with S=1, hexagonal ones with S=2, both centered around an empty central core, and compact triangles with S=1, which do not not include the empty site. Collisions between stable triangular vortices are studied too. These waveguiding lattices can be realized in op…
We develop one numerical method to compute the optical vortex soliton with self-defocusing Kerr-type nonlocal nonlinearity. With the numerical simulation method, the propagation and interaction properties of such optical vortex solitons are investigated.
We reveal the existence of dynamically stable composite topological solitons in Bessel photonic lattices imprinted in focusing Kerr-type nonlinear media. The new stable composite solitons are made of a vortex-ring with unit topological charge incoherently coupled to a fundamental soliton. The stabilization of the otherwise highly azimuthally unstable vortex-rings is provided under suitable conditions, which we study in detail, by cross-phase-modulation coupling with the fundamental soliton companion.
We report the existence of stable symmetric vortex-type solutions for two-dimensional nonlinear discrete dissipative systems governed by a cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We construct a whole family of vortex solitons with a topological charge S = 1. Surprisingly, the dynamical evolution of unstable solutions of this family does not alter significantly their profile, instead their phase distribution completely changes. They transform into two-charges swirl-vortex solitons. We dynamically excite this novel structure showing its experimental feasibility.
Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices, Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University（西安交通大学电子科学与工程学院）；Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院光谱研究所）；School of Physics, Chengdu University of Technology（成都理工大学物理学院）；School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学物理与天文学院）；State Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Hybrid Augmented Intelligence, Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Xi’an Jiaotong University（西安交通大学人工智能与机器人研究院人机混合增强智能全国重点实验室）
Stable ring vortex solitons, featuring a bright-shape, appear to be very rare in nature. However, here we show that they exist and can be made dynamically stable in defocusing cubic nonlinear media with an imprinted Bessel optical lattice. We find the families of vortex lattice solitons and reveal their salient properties, including the conditions required for their stability. We show that the higher the soliton topological charge, the deeper the lattice modulation necessary for stabilization.
We model propagation of far-red-detuned optical vortex beams through a Bose-Einstein Condensate using nonlinear Schrödinger and Gross-Pitaevskii equations. We show the formation of coupled light/atomic solitons that rotate azimuthally before moving off tangentially, carrying angular momentum. The number, and velocity, of solitons, depends on the orbital angular momentum of the optical field. Using a Bessel-Gauss beam increases radial confinement so that solitons can rotate with fixed azimuthal velocity. Our model provides a highly controllable method of channelling a BEC and atomic transport.
A review is given of some well-known and some recent results for two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) solitons, with emphasis on states carrying embedded vorticity. Unlike typically stable 1D solitons, 2D and 3D ones are vulnerable to instabilities induced by the critical and supercritical collapse, respectively, in the 2D and 3D models with cubic focusing nonlinearity. Vortex solitons are subject to a still stronger splitting instability. For this reason, a central problem is looking for physical settings in which 2D and 3D solitons may be stabilized. The review addresses, first, two well-e…
We show that when a single vortex convected by a flowing background collides with an oblique dark soliton in defocusing Kerr-type medium, it passes through the oblique soliton, but this process is accompanied by a considerable vertical shift of the vortex that grows with decrease of the inclination angle of the dark soliton with respect to the direction of the flow and decreases with increase of the flow (or collision) velocity. In the parameter range where the interaction with a vortex does not lead to drastic deformations of the shape of the oblique dark soliton, this shift can be estimated …
It is shown that the pair plasmas with small temperature asymmetry can support existence of localized as well as de-localized optical vortex solitons. Coexistence of such solitons is possible due to peculiar form of saturating nonlinearity which has a focusing-defocusing nature -- for weak amplitudes being focusing becoming defocusing for higher amplitudes. It is shown that delocalized vortex soliton is stable in entire region of its existence while single- and multi-charged localized vortex solitons are unstable for low amplitudes and become stable for relativistic amplitudes.
The real spectrum of bound states produced by PT-symmetric Hamiltonians usually suffers breakup at a critical value of the strength of gain-loss terms, i.e., imaginary part of the complex potential. On the other hand, it is known that the PT-symmetry can be made unbreakable in a one-dimensional (1D) model with self-defocusing nonlinearity whose strength grows fast enough from the center to periphery. The model is nonlinearizable, i.e., it does not have a linear spectrum, while the (unbreakable) PT symmetry in it is defined by spectra of continuous families of nonlinear self-trapped states (sol…
We present an analysis of two-dimensional (2D) matter-wave solitons, governed by the pseudo-spinor system of Gross-Pitaevskii equations with self- and cross-attraction, which includes the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the general Rashba-Dresselhaus form, and, separately, the Rashba coupling and the Zeeman splitting. Families of semi-vortex (SV) and mixed-mode (MM) solitons are constructed, which exist and are stable in free space, as the SOC terms prevent the onset of the critical collapse and create the otherwise missing ground states in the form of the solitons. The Dresselhaus SOC produces a…
We present a numerical study of the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in two transverse dimensions, relevant for the propagation of light in certain exotic media. A well known feature of the model is the existence of flat-top bright solitons of fixed intensity, whose dynamics resembles the physics of a liquid. They support traveling wave solutions, consisting of rarefaction pulses and vortex-antivortex pairs. In this work, we demonstrate how the vortex-antivortex pairs can be generated in bright soliton collisions displaying destructive interference followed by a snake instability. …
We demonstrate the generation of vortex solitons in a model of dissipative optical media with the singular anti-cubic (AC) nonlinearity, by launching a vorticity-carrying Gaussian input into the medium modeled by the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation with the additional AC term. The effect of the latter term on the beam propagation is investigated in detail. An analytical result is produced for the asymptotic form of fundamental and vortical solitons at r --> 0, which is determined by the AC term. Numerical simulations identify parameter domains which maintain stable dissipative s…
We have found several families of vortex soliton solutions in two-dimensional discrete dissipative systems governed by the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. There are symmetric and asymmetric solutions, and some of them have simultaneously two different topological charges. Their regions of existence and stability are determined. Additionally, we have analyzed the relation- ship between dissipation and stability for a number of solutions. We have obtained that dissipation favours the stability of the solutions.
We consider the influence of optical and temperature-dependent atomic fluctuations on the formation and propagation of optical vortex solitons in dense media realized as hollow-core optical fibers filled with a cold atomic gas in presence of optical pumping. We show different perturbation-induced scenaria of complete destruction and smooth transformations of the topological characteristics of localized optical structures in hollow-core fiber. The maximum levels of optical and atomic fluctuations at which the soliton regime can be maintained has been determined. The estimates for these levels s…
We find that the recently introduced model of self-trapping supported by a spatially growing strength of a repulsive nonlinearity gives rise to robust vortex-soliton tori, i.e., three-dimensional vortex solitons, with topological charges S. The family with S=1 is completely stable, while the one with S=2 has alternating regions of stability and instability. The families are nearly exactly reproduced in an analytical form by the Thomas-Fermi approximation (TFA). Unstable states with S=2 and 3 split into persistently rotating pairs or triangles of unitary vortices. Application of a moderate torq…
