Collapse of optical vortices

Luat T. Vuong, Taylor D. Grow, Amiel Ishaaya, Alexander L. Gaeta, Gert W. 'T Hooft, Eric R. Eliel, Gadi Fibich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

148 Scopus citations

Abstract

We theoretically and experimentally investigate the self-focusing of optical vortices in Kerr media. We observe collapse to a distinct self-similar profile, which becomes unstable to azimuthal perturbations. We analyze the azimuthal modulational instability for ring-shaped vortices and predict the number of azimuthal maxima solely as a function of power and topological charge. In our experiments, the observed multiple-filamentation patterns are in excellent agreement with our theoretical analysis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number133901
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume96
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 14 Apr 2006
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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