Surface vortex solitons

Abstract

We predict the existence of vortex solitons supported by the surface between two optical lattices imprinted in Kerr-type nonlinear media. We find that such surface vortex solitons can exhibit strongly noncanonical profiles, and that their salient properties are dictated by the location of the vortex core relative to the surface. A refractive index modulation forming the optical lattices at both sides of the interface yields complete stability of the vortex solitons in wide domains of their existence, thus introducing the first known example of stable topological solitons supported by a surface.