Mighty morphing spatial solitons and bullets

mie give what we believe to be the first closed-form exact expression for the dynamic evolution of nonstationary beams of arbitrary intensity and width propagating in a uniform nonlinear medium and in both two and three dimensions. This shows that periodic and quasi-periodic (nonradiating) beams can exist in a non-Kerr nonlinear medium. The Schrodinger equation is solved for Gaussian beams in a saturable medium. For one critical (initial) beam width, the Gaussian is a stable stationary soliton or bullet, independent of its intensity; otherwise, it breathes. New quasi-periodic beams (mighty morphing solitons) and bullets (mighty morphs) of elliptical cross section also exist whose ellipticity changes with propagation. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America