Related papers: Optical Vectorial Vortex Coronagraphs using Liquid…
The vector vortex coronagraph is an instrument designed for direct detection and spectroscopy of exoplanets over a broad spectral range. Our team is working towards demonstrating contrast performance commensurate with imaging temperate,…
When a high-power, femtosecond, circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse is incident on a micrometer-scale aperture in a solid foil target, it drives surface plasma oscillation, generating high-order harmonic vortices in the diffracted light.…
One of the main challenges for the direct imaging of planets around nearby stars is the suppression of the diffracted halo from the primary star. Coronagraphs are angular filters that suppress this diffracted halo. The Apodizing Phase Plate…
The topological phase acquired by vector vortex optical beams is investigated. Under local unitary operations on their polarization and transverse degrees of freedom, the vector vortices can only acquire discrete geometric phase values, 0…
We propose to generate optical vortices using a degenerate optical resonator with an intra-cavity spiral phase plate (SPP). The rays retracing skewed V-shaped paths in the resonator are phase-locked to form vortex laser with wavefront…
High contrast imaging (HCI) is fundamentally limited by wavefront aberrations, and the ability to perform wavefront sensing from focal plane images is key to reach the full potential of ground and space-based instruments. Vortex focal plane…
Using an l = 1 blazed fork-hologram at the focal plane of the Asiago 122 cm telescope, we obtained optical vortices from the stellar system Rasalgethi (alpha Herculis) and from the single star Arcturus (alpha Bootis). We have analyzed the…
The two-dimensional One-Component Plasma (OCP) is a foundational model of the statistical mechanics of interacting particles, describing phenomena common to astrophysics, turbulence, and the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect (FQHE). Despite an…
We present an experimental method based on a modified multiple beam interference approach to generate an optical vortex array arranged in a spatially varying lattice. This method involves two steps which are: numerical synthesis of a…
The design and implementation of a multiplexed spiral phase mask in an experimental optical tweezer setup are presented. This diffractive optical element allows the generation of multiple concentric vortex beams with independent topological…
We report on the performance of a vector apodizing phase plate coronagraph that operates over a wavelength range of $2-5 \mu$m and is installed in MagAO/Clio2 at the 6.5 m Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. The…
The generation and measurement of optical vortex (OV) are the basis for a variety of related applications. However, the special case of high-order OVs has not been sufficient addressed yet. Herein, a generation and measurement method of…
The optimal geometries of vector phase matching are determined for the cases of second harmonic, sum and difference frequency generation in a number of orthorhombic nonlinear optical crystals - KTP, KTA, KB5, KNbO3, LBO, CBO, LRB4. Extreme…
It has been recently reported that ultraviolet harmonic vortices can be produced when a high-power circular-polarized laser pulse travels through a micro-scale waveguide. However, the harmonic generation quenches typically after a few tens…
We developed theoretical formalism for generation of optical vortices by phased arrays of atoms. Using Jacobi-Anger expansion, we demonstrate the resulting field topology and determine the least number of array elements necessary for…
In this paper, we present the infrared coronagraphic test bench of the University of Li\`ege named VODCA (Vortex Optical Demonstrator for Coronagraphic Applications). The goal of the bench is to assess the performances of the Annular Groove…
Phase masks coronagraphs can be seen as linear systems that spatially redistribute, in the pupil plane, the energy collected by the telescope. Most of the on-axis light must ideally be rejected outside the aperture to be blocked with a Lyot…
A model for a new electron vortex beam production method is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The technique calls on the controlled manipulation of the degrees of freedom of the lens aberrations to achieve a helical phase front.…
We report stable composite vortex solitons in the model of a three-dimensional photonic crystal with the third-harmonic (TH) generation provided by the quasi-phase-matched quadratic nonlinearity. The photonic crystal is designed with a…
The Optimal Optical Coronagraph (OOC) Workshop at the Lorentz Center in September 2017 in Leiden, the Netherlands gathered a diverse group of 25 researchers working on exoplanet instrumentation to stimulate the emergence and sharing of new…