Spatial coherence singularities and incoherent vortex solitons

We study spatially localized optical vortices created by self-trapping of partially incoherent light with a phase dislocation in a biased photorefractive crystal. In a contrast to the decay of coherent self-trapped vortex beams due to the azimuthal instability, the incoherent vortices are stabilized when the spatial incoherence of light exceeds a certain threshold. We analyze the spatial coherence properties of the incoherent optical vortices and reveal the existence of ring-like singularities in the spatial coherence function of a vortex field that can characterize the stable propagation of vortices through nonlinear media.