Observation of dipole-mode vector solitons
  We report on the first experimental observation of a novel type of optical vector soliton, a {\em dipole-mode soliton}, recently predicted theoretically. We show that these vector solitons can be generated in a photorefractive medium employing two different processes: a phase imprinting, and a symmetry-breaking instability of a vortex-mode vector soliton. The experimental results display remarkable agreement with the theory, and confirm the robust nature of these radially asymmetric two-component solitary waves. 
Wieslaw Krolikowski, Elena A. Ostrovskaya, Carsten Weilnau, Matthias   Geisser, Glen McCarthy, Yuri S. Kivshar, Cornelia Den...