Abstract
We study switching of an optical vortex launched into one core of a dual-core waveguide coupler in a photonic crystal fibre with self-focusing nonlinearity. We analyse how the beam power and the angular momentum associated with the vortex mode transfer to the second core of the coupler in both linear and nonlinear regimes. We describe three major scenarios of the vortex dynamics and reveal novel symmetry-breaking instabilities associated with the vortex nonzero angular momentum.
Highlights
Optical vortices are fundamental localised structures associated with the points of vanishing intensity and phase singularities of optical beams [1]
We observe different scenarios of the vortex switching, and three major types of the vortex dynamics are illustrated in Figure 1, where three simulations for three different input powers are presented
Due to the symmetry-breaking instability induced by the presence of the second core, the vortex breaks up into a dipole structure due to the growing azimuthal perturbations
Summary
Optical vortices are fundamental localised structures associated with the points of vanishing intensity and phase singularities of optical beams [1]. PCF vortex solitons still remain stable when they are perturbed only by symmetric (diagonal) perturbations, but they decay into two fundamental solitons when affected by asymmetric (non-diagonal) perturbations These fundamental solitons, remain confined inside the PCF waveguide instead of flying off, and they do not undergo collapse even in the focusing medium [4, 5]. This is in a sharp contrast with homogeneous and unbounded nonlinear Kerr media where two-dimensional self-trapped beams –spatial solitons– become unstable and undergo the collapse instability [3]
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