Induced coherence and stable soliton spiraling

Abstract

We develop a theory of soliton spiraling in a bulk nonlinear medium and reveal a new physical mechanism: Periodic power exchange via induced coherence, which can lead to stable spiraling and the formation of dynamical two-soliton states. Our theory explains earlier observations and provides a number of predictions which are verified experimentally. Finally, we show theoretically and experimentally that soliton spiraling can be controlled by the degree of mutual initial coherence. © 1999 The American Physical Society.