  The motion of noncircular two-dimensional vortices is shown to depend on a
form of coupling between vortex ellipticity and the gradient of fluid density.
The approach is based on the perspective that an elliptic vortex can be
described as the projection of a virtual construct, a circular vortex with a
symmetry axis that is tilted with respect to the direction of propagation. The
resulting kinetic equation offers insights into how tilt and vortex velocity
coevolve in few-body nonequilibrium settings such as vortex pair nucleation and
annihilation. The model is developed and applied in association with optical
vortices, and optical experiments are used to verify its predictive power. It
is valid for quantum fluids and classical hydrodynamics settings as well.
