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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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We show that a two-dimensional hydrodynamics model provides a physical explanation for the splitting of higher-charge optical vortices under elliptical deformations. The model is applicable to laser light and quantum fluids alike. The study delineates vortex breakups from vortex unions under different forms of asymmetry in the beam, and it is also applied to explain the motion of intact higher-charge vortices.