We characterize dark-type vector optical solitons of arbitrary polarization in isotropic, Kerr-type media by applying Hirota's method to the integrable Manakov model with a defocusing nonlinearity. We find that nonuniformly polarized solitons comprise a rich solution family that can be divided into two categories: dark-dark and dark-bright vector solitons. We consider the propagation dynamics and the interactions of these vector solitons by deriving multisoliton solutions, and show the existence of stationary bound states, a phenomenon not observed for scalar dark solitons.

• Received 29 October 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.55.4773