Multidimensional dissipative solitons and solitary vortices

This article offers a review of (chiefly, theoretical) results for self-trapped states (solitons) in two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) models of nonlinear dissipative media. The existence of such solitons requires to maintain two stable balances: between nonlinear self-focusing and linear spreading (diffraction and/or dispersion) of the physical fields, and between losses and gain in the medium. Due to the interplay of these conditions, dissipative solitons exist, unlike solitons in conservative models, not in continuous families, but as isolated solutions (attractors). The main issue in the theory is stability of multidimensional dissipative solitons, especially ones with embedded vorticity. First, stable 2D dissipative solitons are presented in the framework of the complex Ginzburg–Landau equation with the cubic–quintic nonlinearity, which combines linear loss, cubic gain, and quintic loss (the linear loss is necessary to stabilize zero background around dissipative solitons, while the quintic loss provides for the global stability of the setting). In addition to fundamental (zero-vorticity) solitons, stable spiral solitons produced by the CGL equation are produced too, with intrinsic vorticities S=1 and 2. Stable 2D solitons were also found in a system built of two linearly-coupled optical fields, with linear gain acting in one and linear loss, which plays the stabilizing role, in the other. In this case, the inclusion of the cubic loss (without quintic terms) is sufficient for the creation of stable fundamental and vortical dissipative solitons in the linearly-coupled system. In addition to truly localized states, weakly localized ones are presented too, in the single-component model with nonlinear losses, which does not include explicit gain. In that case, the losses are compensated by the influx of power from the reservoir provided, at the spatial infinity, by the weakly localized structure of the solution. Other classes of 2D models which are considered in this review make use of spatially modulated loss or gain to predict many species of robust dissipative solitons, including localized dynamical states featuring complex periodically recurring metamorphoses. Stable fundamental and vortical solitons are also produced by models including a trapping or spatially periodic potential. In the latter case, the consideration addresses 2D gap dissipative solitons as well. 2D two-component dissipative models including spin–orbit coupling are considered too. They give rise to stable states in the form of semi-vortex solitons, with vorticity carried by one component. In addition to the 2D solitons, the review includes 3D fundamental and vortical dissipative solitons, stabilized by the cubic–quintic nonlinearity and/or external potentials. Collisions between 3D dissipative solitons are considered too.