Vortex solutions of the defocusing discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation

Abstract

We consider the existence, stability and dynamical evolution of dark vortex states in the two-dimensional defocusing DNLS equation, a model of interest both to atomic physics and to nonlinear optics. Our considerations are chiefly based on initializing such vortex configurations at the anti-continuum limit of zero coupling between adjacent sites, and continuing them to finite values of the coupling. Discrete defocusing vortices become unstable past a critical coupling strength and, subsequently feature a cascade of alternating stabilization-destabilization windows for any finite lattice.