# Spontaneous formation of vector vortex beams in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with feedback

## TL;DR

This paper reports the spontaneous formation of complex vector vortex beams with diverse polarization structures in a simple VCSEL system with feedback, revealing soliton-like properties and coexistence of multiple vortex types.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the spontaneous emergence of various vector vortex beams with non-uniform polarization in VCSELs with feedback, a novel observation in such simple systems.

## Key findings

- Antivortices with hyperbolic polarization are observed.
- Radially polarized vortices are demonstrated.
- Multiple vortex types coexist near threshold.

## Abstract

The spontaneous emergence of vector vortex beams with non-uniform polarization distribution is reported in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with frequency-selective feedback. Antivortices with a hyperbolic polarization structure and radially polarized vortices are demonstrated. They exist close to and partially coexist with vortices with uniform and non-uniform polarization distributions characterized by four domains of pairwise orthogonal polarization. The spontaneous formation of these nontrivial structures in a simple, nearly isotropic VCSEL system is remarkable and the vector vortices are argued to have soliton-like properties.