Dipole and quadrupole solitons in optically-induced two-dimensional defocusing photonic lattices

Dipole and quadrupole solitons in a two-dimensional optically induced defocusing photonic lattice are theoretically predicted and experimentally observed. It is shown that in-phase nearest-neighbor and out-of-phase next-nearest-neighbor dipoles exist and can be stable in the intermediate intensity regime. There are also different types of dipoles that are always unstable. In-phase nearest-neighbor quadrupoles are also numerically obtained, and may also be linearly stable. Out-of-phase, nearest-neighbor quadrupoles are found to be typically unstable. These numerical results are found to be aligned with the main predictions obtained analytically in the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger model. Finally, experimental results are presented for both dipole and quadrupole structures, indicating that self-trapping of such structures in the defocusing lattice can be realized for the length of the nonlinear crystal (10 mm).