"Capillary'' structures in transversely trapped nonlinear optical beams

TL;DR

This paper explores novel three-dimensional optical structures in nonlinear beams using mathematical analogies with fluid dynamics and Bose-Einstein condensates, presenting new numerical examples of complex beam configurations.

Contribution

It introduces new numerical examples of transversely trapped nonlinear optical beams, including floating drops and precessing vortices, expanding the understanding of 3D coherent optical structures.

Findings

Numerical examples of floating drops and precessing vortices in nonlinear optical beams.

Simulation of filled vortices propagating at large distances.

Demonstration of complex beam configurations with inhomogeneous profiles.

Abstract

A mathematical analogy between paraxial optics with two circular polarizations of light in a defocusing Kerr medium with positive dispersion, binary Bose-Einstein condensates of cold atoms in the phase separation regime, and hydrodynamics of two immiscible compressible liquids can help in theoretical search for unknown three-dimensional coherent optical structures. In this work, transversely trapped (by a smooth profile of the refractive index) light beams are considered and new numerical examples are presented, including a ``floating drop'', a precessing longitudinal optical vortex with an inhomogeneous profile of filling with the second component, and the combination of a drop and a vortex filament. Filled vortices that are perpendicular to the beam axis and propagate at large distances have also been simulated. V. P. Ruban, JETP Lett. 117(4), 292 (2023); DOI: 10.1134/S0021364022603311