Stabilization of counter-rotating vortex pairs in nonlocal media

The dynamics of vector vortex pairs with explicit and hidden vorticity in nonlocal media with an arbitrary degree of nonlocality is investigated analytically and numerically. We show that the stability dynamics of the vortex pairs depends crucially upon their total angular momentum, the topological charge, and the degree of nonlocality. In particular, we show that nonlocality eliminates the splitting of the vortex pairs, improves their propagation stability, and leads to formation of stationary bound states of vortex pairs.