title: Observation of second-band vortex solitons in 2D photonic lattices.
abstract: We demonstrate second-band bright vortex-array solitons in photonic lattices. This constitutes the first experimental observation of higher-band solitons in any 2D periodic system. These solitons possess complex intensity and phase structures, yet they can be excited by a simple highly localized vortex-ring beam. Finally, we show that the linear diffraction of such beams exhibits preferential transport along the lattice axes.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Technion--Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bartal
authors.forename: Ofer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Manela
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fleischer
authors.forename: Mordechai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Segev