Related papers: Optical whirlpool near absorbing metallic nanopart…

Surface plasmon polaritons (plasmons) are a combination of light and a collective oscillation of the free electron plasma at metal-dielectric interfaces. This interaction allows sub-wavelength confinement of light, beyond the diffraction…

Surface plasmons in a centrosymmetric metal nanocrystal have been perceived as achiral, based on the quantum-mechanical theory of molecular optical activity. The one-electron theory is insufficient to describe optical activity in crystals,…

We observe stable propagation of spatially localized single- and double-charge optical vortices in a self-focusing nonlinear medium. The vortices are created by self-trapping of partially incoherent light carrying a phase dislocation, and…

In view of wide applications of structured light fields and plasmonic vortices, we propose the concept of compound plasmonic vortex and design several structured plasmonic vortex generators. This kind of structured plasmonic vortex…

Using a hydrodynamic model of the free electron gas of metal, we theoretically investigate optically-induced DC current loops in a plasmonic nanostructure. Such current loops originate from an optical rectification process relying on three…

We introduce the phenomenon of spiraling vortices in driven-dissipative (non-equilibrium) exciton-polariton condensates excited by a non-resonant pump beam. At suitable low pump intensities, these vortices are shown to spiral along circular…

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.…

We discuss optical forces exerted on particles, either dielectric or metallic, near a subwavelength slit illuminated by a photonic nanojet. We compare those cases in which the Mie resonances are or are not excited. The configurations on…

Research at the frontier between optics and magnetism is revealing a wealth of innovative phenomena and avenues of exploration. Optical waves are demonstrating the capacity to induce ultrafast magnetism, while optical analogs of magnetic…

Experimental studies of the optical properties of compressible, viscous and rapidly-rotating gas flows (vortices) are presented. Gas vortices can function as optical elements such as lenses or waveguides. The optical properties are…

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…

Metal nanoparticles are excellent light absorbers. The absorption processes create highly excited electron-hole pairs and recently there has been interest in harnessing these hot charge carriers for photocatalysis and solar energy…

Plasma is an attractive medium for generating strong microscopic magnetic structures and tunable electromagnetic radiation with predictable topologies due to its extraordinary ability to sustain and manipulate high currents and strong…

Pinning of superfluid vortices to the nuclear lattice of the inner crust of a neutron star supports a velocity difference between the superfluid and the solid as the star spins down. Under the Magnus force that arises on the vortex lattice,…

In nonlinear Kerr media at intensities such that multiphoton absorption is significant, a vortex of topological charge m in the center of a high-order nonlinear Bessel beam (NBB) can be stable and subsist endlessly. We show that the…

We determine the path of the light around a dielectric vortex described by the relativistic vortex flow of a perfect fluid.

We predict plasmonic mediated nucleation of pancake shaped resonant nano-cavities in metallic layers that are penetrable to laser fields. The underlying physics is that the cavity provides a narrow plasmonic resonance that maximizes its…

In an optical experiment, we report a wave turbulence regime that, starting with weakly nonlinear waves with randomized phases, shows an inverse cascade of photons towards the lowest wavenumbers. We show that the cascade is induced by a…

When a system consisting of many interacting particles is set rotating, it may form vortices. This is familiar to us from every-day life: you can observe vortices while stirring your coffee or watching a hurricane. In the world of quantum…

In metal nanostructures under illumination, multiple different processes can drive current flow, and in an open- circuit configuration some of these processes lead to the production of open-circuit photovoltages. Structures that have…