Critical power of collapsing vortices

TL;DR

This paper calculates the critical power needed for vortex collapse in nonlinear media, showing improved accuracy over previous models and revealing unique disintegration behavior for non-radially symmetric vortices.

Contribution

It provides a more accurate formula for vortex collapse power and analyzes the effects of polarization and symmetry deviations on collapse behavior.

Findings

New, more precise critical power formula for vortex collapse.

Deviations from symmetry cause disintegration into non-vortex filaments.

Different polarization states are analyzed for collapse dynamics.

Abstract

We calculate the critical power for collapse of linearly-polarized phase vortices, and show that this expression is more accurate than previous results. Unlike the non-vortex case, deviations from radial symmetry do not increase the critical power for collapse, but rather lead to disintegration into collapsing non-vortex filaments. The cases of circular, radial and azimuthal polarizations are also considered.