Interaction of in-band and in-gap lattice soliton trains in optically induced two-dimensional photonic lattices

We demonstrate the coherent interactions of lattice soliton trains, including in-band solitons (IBSs) and gap soliton trains (GSTs), in optically induced two-dimensional photonic lattices with self-defocusing nonlinearity. It is revealed that the $\pi$-staggered phase structures of the lattice soliton trains will lead to anomalous interactions. Solely by changing their initial separations, the transition between attractive and repulsive interaction forces or reversion of the energy transfer can be obtained. The `negative refraction' effect of the soliton trains on the interaction is also discussed. Moreover, two interacting IBSs can merge into one GST when attraction or energy transfer happens.