  We investigate numerically the dynamics of optical vortex beams carrying
different topological charges, launched in a dissipative three level ladder
type nonlinear atomic vapor. We impose the electromagnetically induced
transparency (EIT) condition on the medium. Linear, cubic, and quintic
susceptibilities, considered simultaneously with the dressing effect, are
included in the analysis. Generally, the beams slowly expand during propagation
and new vortices are induced, commonly appearing in oppositely charged pairs.
We demonstrate that not only the form and the topological charge of the
incident beam, but also its growing size in the medium greatly affect the
formation and evolution of vortices. We formulate common rules for finding the
number of induced vortices and the corresponding rotation directions, stemming
from the initial conditions of various incident beams, as well as from the
dynamical aspects of their propagation. The net topological charge of the
vortex is conserved during propagation, as it should be, but the total number
of charges is not necessarily same as the initial number, because of the
complex nature of the system. When the EIT condition is lifted, an enhancement
region of beam dynamics if reached, in which the dynamics and the expansion of
the beam greatly accelerate. In the end, we discuss the liquid like behavior of
light evolution in this dissipative system and propose a potential experimental
scheme for observing such a behavior.
