Related papers: Photonic hook: A new curved light beam
This thesis describes experimental work on the use of wavefront shaping to steer light through strongly scattering materials. We find that scattering does not irreversibly scramble the incident wave. By shaping the incident wavefront, we…
In many physical situations involving diverse length scales, waves or rays representing them travel through media characterized by spatially smooth, random, modest refactive index variations. "Primary" diffraction (by individual…
It is well known that the trajectory of a light beam can curve if the medium in which the beam propagates is inhomogeneous or if the local spacetime is curved. In this paper we present a third possibility and show that a properly-prepared…
Optical beams with a new and distinctive type of helicity have become the subject of much recent interest. While circularly polarised light comprises photons with spin angular momentum, these optically engineered 'twisted beams' (optical…
It has been theoretically predicted that light carrying orbital angular momentum, or twisted light, can be tuned to have a strong magnetic-field component at optical frequencies. We here consider the interaction of these peculiar fields…
When a relativistic laser pulse with high photon density interacts with a specially tailored thin foil target, a strong torque is exerted on the resulting spiral-shaped foil plasma, or light fan. Because of its structure, the latter can…
Adaptive optics can focus light through opaque media by compensating the random phase delay acquired while crossing a scattering curtain. The technique is commonly exploited in many fields, including astrophysics, microscopy, biomedicine…
In this study, we propose a novel design of the triangular mesoscale Janus prisms for the generation of the long photonic hook. The numerical simulations based on the finite-difference time-domain method are used to examine the formation…
Free electrons moving in an optical standing wave field feel the ponderomotive potential, acting as a refractive-index medium in electron optics. Emerging technologies involving this potential have been proposed and realized in electron…
The quantum boomerang effect is a counterintuitive phenomenon where a wave packet, despite having an initial momentum, returns to its starting position in a disordered medium. However, up to now, the experimental exploration of this effect…
Electromagnetic waves follow linear paths in homogenous index media, with the exception of band edges. In this study, we introduced spatially distorted photonic crystals (D-PCs) that are capable of beam-steering light waves, even when a…
An electron beam traversing a structured plasmonic field is shown to undergo diffraction with characteristic angular patterns of both elastic and inelastic outgoing electron components. In particular, a plasmonic {\it grating} (e.g., a…
The concepts of topology provide a powerful tool to tailor the propagation and localization of light. While electromagnetic waves have only two polarization states, engineered degeneracies of photonic modes provide novel opportunities…
A generalized coordinate-independent expression for the evolution of light beam on curved space is derived.
Photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) are optical fibres that guide light using a modulated dielectric medium. They provide an exceptionally versatile platform for various applications, thanks to the flexibility with which light-guiding can be…
A nonlinear quantum-optical process is considered: emission of photon pairs by the reflecting end of a fiber excited by a standing laser wave. Radiation occurs due to periodic changes in the optical length of the fiber over time. This…
Photons are nonchiral particles: their handedness can be both left and right. However, when light is transversely confined, it can locally exhibit a transverse spin whose orientation is fixed by the propagation direction of the photons.…
A two-level atom cannot emit more than one photon at a time. As early as the 1980s, this quantum feature was identified as a gateway to "single-photon sources", where a regular excitation sequence would create a stream of light particles…
Light fields with extraordinary propagation behaviours such as nondiffracting and self-bending are useful in optical delivery for energy, information, and even objects. A kind of helical beams is constructed here based on the caustic…
Twisted light is light carrying orbital angular momentum. The profile of such a beam is a ring-like structure with a node at the beam axis, where a phase singularity exits. Due to the strong spatial inhomogeneity the mathematical…