INTERACTIONS OF SPATIAL SOLITONS IN A MEDIUM WITH A SATURABLE NONLINEARITY - II - STRONG INTERACTION OF SOLITONS FOR SMALL ANGLES OF COLLISION

Numerical and analytical studies of the stability of cylindrical modes and collisions of spatial solitons (fundamental stable modes) in a se lf-focusing medium with a saturable nonlinearity are carried out. The first excited mode with the azimuthal number M = 1 is shown to be unst able. The soliton collisions are studied as a function of power, angle s of collision, and the phase difference of colliding solitons. The de pendences of changes of parameters and a number of solitons in strong collisions are studied, and the role of phase relations is shown to be of substantial importance.