Nonlocal stabilization of nonlinear beams in a self-focusing atomic vapor

S. Skupin*, M. Saffman, W. Królikowski

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    155 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We show that ballistic transport of optically excited atoms in an atomic vapor provides a nonlocal nonlinearity which stabilizes the propagation of vortex beams and higher order modes in the presence of a self-focusing nonlinearity. Numerical experiments demonstrate stable propagation of higher order nonlinear states (dipole, vortices, and rotating azimuthons) over a hundred diffraction lengths, before dissipation leads to decay of these structures.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number263902
    JournalPhysical Review Letters
    Volume98
    Issue number26
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 29 Jun 2007

    Cite this