Coherence controlled soliton interactions

We demonstrate theoretically and subsequently observe in experiment a novel type of soliton interaction when a pair of closely spaced spatial optical solitons as a whole is made partially incoherent. We explain how the character of the soliton interaction can be controlled by the total partial incoherence, and show a possibility to change the soliton interaction from attractive to repulsive, or vice versa, near a certain threshold in the coherence parameter.