Collapse of a transverse-mode continuum in a self-imaging photorefractively pumped ring resonator

We demonstrate the collapse of a continuum of transverse modes in a self-imaging ring resonator that is photorefractively pumped. The resulting localized mode has an arbitrary transverse location. The mode collapse results from placing saturable photorefractive gain and loss media in spatially conjugate resonator planes. The transverse position of the localized mode is unstable under small cavity misalignments, and it drifts across the transverse aperture while retaining its spatial form.