Azimuthons in weakly nonlinear waveguides of different symmetries

We show that weakly guiding nonlinear waveguides support stable propagation of rotating spatial solitons (azimuthons). We investigate the role of waveguide symmetry on the soliton rotation. We find that azimuthons in circular waveguides always rotate rigidly during propagation and the analytically predicted rotation frequency is in excellent agreement with numerical simulations. On the other hand, azimuthons in square waveguides may experience spatial deformation during propagation. Moreover, we show that there is a critical value for the modulation depth of azimuthons above which solitons just wobble back and forth, and below which they rotate continuously. We explain these dynamics using the concept of energy difference between different orientations of the azimuthon. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America