title: Laguerre and Hermite soliton clusters in nonlocal nonlinear media.
abstract: We introduce novel classes of higher-order spatial optical solitons in analogy with Laguerre-Gaussian and Hermite-Gaussian linear eigenmodes. We reveal that stable higher-order optical solitons can exist in nonlocal nonlinear media in the various forms of soliton necklaces and soliton matrices. Modulational instability can lead to nontrivial transformations between energetically close solitons with different symmetries through the intermediate states resembling generalized Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian modes.
authors.affiliation: Nonlinear Physics Center, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buccoliero
authors.forename: Anton S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Desyatnikov
authors.forename: Wieslaw
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Krolikowski
authors.forename: Yuri S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kivshar