An intuitive approach to structuring the three polarization components of light
Optics
2019-02-04 v1
Abstract
This paper presents intuitive interpretations of tightly focused beams of light by drawing analogies to two-dimensional electrostatics, magnetostatics and fluid dynamics. We use a Helmholtz decomposition of the transverse polarization components in the transverse plane to introduce generalized radial and azimuthal polarization states. This reveals the interplay between transverse and longitudinal polarization components in a transparent fashion. Our approach yields a comprehensive understanding of tightly focused laser beams, which we illustrate through several insightful examples.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1810.01306,
title = {An intuitive approach to structuring the three polarization components of light},
author = {F. Maucher and S. Skupin and S. A. Gardiner and I. G. Hughes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1810.01306},
year = {2019}
}