Related papers: Vector Beam Bending
Tailored time-dependent variations of the transverse profile together with longitudinal phase shifts of laser beams are studied. It is shown theoretically that a standing wave setup and real-time beam forming techniques (e.g. by…
We report experiments on propagation of scalar and vector optical beams through random phase screens mimicking turbulence and show that the intensity profile of the beam containing a C-point polarization singularity shows maximally robust…
We consider the propagation of light in arbitrarily curved step-index optical fibers. Using a multiple-scales approximation scheme, set-up in Fermi normal coordinates, the full vectorial Maxwell equations are solved in a perturbative…
Light transport in graded index media follows a curved trajectory determined by the Fermat's principle. Besides the effect of variation of the refractive index on the transport of radiative intensity, the curved ray trajectory will induce…
Light beam with optical vortices can propagate in free space only with integer orbital angular momentum. Here, we invert this scientific consensus theoretically and experimentally by proposing light beams carrying natural non-integer…
Vector beams are often regarded as non-separable superpositions of spatial and polarization degrees of freedom that satisfy the wave equation. This interpretation ties their polarization structure to their spatial shape. Here, we introduce…
A fundamentally different approach to path integral quantum mechanics in curved space-time is presented, as compared to the standard approaches currently available in the literature. Within the context of scalar particle propagation in a…
We reformulate the transport equation which determines the size, shape and orientation of infinitesimal light beams in arbitrary spacetimes. The behaviour of such light beams near vertices and conjugate points is investigated, with special…
Light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM)--known as vortex beams--has broadened the scope of understanding and applications of light's angular momentum. Optical tweezers using OAM, often referred to as optical spanners, have…
A curve is rectifying if it lies on a moving hyperplane orthogonal to its curvature vector. In this work, we extend the main result of [Chen 2017, Tamkang J. Math. 48, 209] to any space dimension: we prove that rectifying curves are…
Vortices are ubiquitous in nature and can be observed in fluids, condensed matter, and even in the formation of galaxies. Light, too, can evolve like a vortex. Optical vortices are exploited in light-matter interaction, free-space…
Under the action of light-by-light scattering, light beams show collective behaviors in vacuum. For instance, in the case of two counterpropagating laser beams with specific initial helicity, the polarization of each beam oscillates…
A light beam is said to be position squeezed if its position can be determined to an accuracy beyond the standard quantum limit. We identify the position and momentum observables for bright optical beams and show that position and momentum…
Spatial structuring of an optical pulse can lead in some cases upon free propagation to changes in its temporal profile. For example, introducing conventional angular dispersion into the field results in the pulse encountering…
When light is passing through a rotating medium the optical polarisation is rotated. Recently it has been reasoned that this rotation applies also to the transmitted image (Padgett et al. 2006). We examine these two phenomena by extending…
When linearly polarized light propagates through a medium in which elliptically polarized light would undergo self-rotation, squeezed vacuum can appear in the orthogonal polarization. A simple relationship between self-rotation and the…
It is reported that when a light beam travels through a slab of left-handed medium in the air, the lateral shift of the transmitted beam can be negative as well as positive. The necessary condition for the lateral shift to be positive is…
We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally coherence-induced polarization changes in generic and higher-order vector vortex beams with polarization singularity. The prominent depolarization on decreasing transverse correlation-width in…
Structured beams of light can move small objects in surprising ways. Particularly striking examples include observations of polarization-dependent forces acting on optically isotropic objects and tractor beams that can pull objects opposite…
When an optical beam propagates through a turbulent medium such as the atmosphere or ocean, the beam will become distorted. It is then natural to seek the best or optimal beam that is distorted least, under some metric such as intensity or…