Multi-soliton complexes

In this paper we introduce the concept of multi-soliton complexes (MSC). A particular example of a MSC is an incoherent soliton in a multimode fiber or in a photorefractive crystal, but there are many examples in other areas of physics. We discuss a variety of profiles of MSCs, their unusual collisional properties, the possibility of a MSC on a background and some other interesting properties of MSCs. Some of their features are also shared by single solitons, but there are many differences between the properties of the two types. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.