Two-dimensional nonlinear vector states in Bose-Einstein condensates

Two-dimensional (2D) vector matter waves in the form of soliton-vortex and vortex-vortex pairs are investigated for the case of attractive intracomponent interaction in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates. Both attractive and repulsive intercomponent interactions are considered. By means of a linear stability analysis we show that soliton-vortex pairs can be stable in some regions of parameters while vortex-vortex pairs turn out to be always unstable. The results are confirmed by direct numerical simulations of the 2D coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations.