Structural stability of a nonparaxial singular mode beam

The exact explicit solution of the Maxwell equations for nonparaxial singular beams propagating in free space or in a homogeneous isotropic medium is considered. It is shown that, in the paraxial approximation, such solutions for mode beams of both lower and higher orders may turn into the solutions for guided modes or vortices of optical fibers. It is found that a variation of the Rayleigh length for a mode beam does not change the structure of phase and polarization singularities; it merely transforms their coordinates. In the paraxial limit, the singularities are shifted off the axis to regions with negligible light fluxes.     

The structure of a nonparaxial Gaussian beam near the focus: II. Optical vortices

Exact analytical solutions of Maxwell’s equations describing the behavior of a nonparaxial optical vortex in the vicinity of a focal waist are obtained using the Whittaker method of scalar potentials, the point complex source method, and approximate Davis boundary conditions. It is shown that nonparaxial optical vortices in free space fall into three large groups: even and odd vortices with preferential circular polarization and azimuthally symmetric TE and TM vortices. The fields of even and odd nonparaxial vortices agree well with the fields of guided homogeneous and inhomogeneous vortices of a weakly guiding fiber. In the paraxial approximation, the expressions obtained for the fields are transformed to the fields of paraxial optical vortices. In the focal region, a nonparaxial beam experiences elliptic deformation of the cross section. This elliptic deformation is shown to result from the asymmetric location of regions with negative energy flows. The reversal of sign of the topological charge and the helicity of a combination of even and odd vortices causes both rotation of the dislocation axis through π/2 and longitudinal displacement of the focal spot, which are the transverse and the longitudinal optical Magnus effects.     

非傍轴高斯光束传输方程解的探讨

由洛伦兹规范下光场满足的矢势和标势方程出发, 探讨了初始光场具有任意对称性的一般非傍轴光束在空间的传输情况。利用角频谱并结合傅里叶变换处理得到了非傍轴光束的传输方程。利用扰动方法并结合新近似取法得到了非傍轴横向光场的扰动形式解, 该解对于近场弱非傍轴情况下的效果比强非傍轴条件下要好。给出了光束非傍轴传输高阶(八阶)修正解。对于零阶情况, 非傍轴光束退化为傍轴光束, 传输方程也相应退化为傍轴传输的模型方程。高斯解为扰动参量的零阶修正解。     

Dynamics of topological multipoles: I. High-order nonparaxial singular beams

Approximate boundary conditions for matching the high-order nonparaxial and paraxial singular beams propagating through free space or through a homogeneous isotropic medium are formulated. It is found that the nonparaxial and paraxial beams have almost the same structure both in the vicinity of the focal caustic and away from it. In the intermediate zone, the beam profiles are distorted, and a phase mismatch arises and increases with increasing mode order. The combined nonparaxial singular beams are devised, and their dynamics is studied. It is shown that the problem of matching the paraxial and nonparaxial wave functions may be reformulated as a problem of the phase matching for nonparaxial wave function. Such a problem is similar to the mode-dispersion problem and is unsolvable in terms of a linear problem for the entire optical axis. Thus, it makes sense to discuss either the precise matching of the paraxial and nonparaxial beams within small spatial zones or an approximate matching away from the focal plane but at long distances along the optical axis.     

非傍轴矢量异常空心光束的传输特性

 将Cai提出的异常空心光束的理论模型推广到非傍轴范畴,推导出非傍轴矢量异常空心光束传输的解析表达式,用以研究它在自由空间中的传输特性。研究表明,异常空心光束在传输过程中光束形状会发生变化。与高斯光束不同,非傍轴异常空心光束傍轴近似成立条件依赖于传输距离,这与异常空心光束光强分布随传输距离的变化有关。非傍轴异常空心光束远场的光束质量可用桶中功率来描述,桶中功率随f参数(波长与束腰宽度的比值)的增大而减小。     

Nonparaxial propagation of phase-flipped Gaussian beams

This paper derives the closed-form expressions for nonparaxial phase flipped Gaussian （PFG） beams propagating in free space, through a knife edge and an aperture, which enable us to study nonparaxial propagation properties of PFG beams and to compare nonparaxial results with paraxial ones. It is found that the f parameter, offsetting distance of the knife edge and truncation parameter affect the nonparaxial beam propagation properties. Only under certain conditions the paraxial approximation is applicable. The results are illustrated by numerical examples.     

Polarization properties of nonparaxial partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model beams

The polarization properties of nonparaxial partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model (PGSM) beams are studied. Based on the beam coherence-polarization matrix, the propagation formula of the degree of polarization for the nonparaxial PGSM beams is derived. The paraxial approximation is dealt with as special cases of our general results. Some conditions that limit the choice of the parameters are established. The sufficiency condition of polarization invariance in propagation for the nonparaxial PGSM beams is derived. By using the derived formulae, the propagation properties of the degree of polarization for the nonparaxial PGSM beam in free space are illustrated and analyzed with numerical examples. Some detailed comparisons of the obtained results with the paraxial results are made.     

Phase-flipped Hermite-Gaussian beams and their propagation beyond the paraxial approximation

An extension of phase-flipped Gaussian (PFG) beams to the multi-mode nonparaxial case is made. The recurrence propagation expressions for phase-flipped Hermite-Gaussian (PFHG) beams beyond the paraxial approximation are derived and used to study nonparaxial propagation properties of PFHG beams in free space and through a knife edge and an aperture, and to compare nonparaxial results with paraxial ones. The propagation of paraxial PFHG beams and PFG beams and nonparaxial PFG beams is treated as special cases of nonparaxial PFHG beams. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Partially coherent nonparaxial modified Bessel--Gauss beams

The concept of partially coherent nonparaxial modified Bessel--Gauss (MBG) beams is proposed. Based on the generalized Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral, the analytical propagation equations of nonparaxial MBG beams in free space are derived and analysed, and some special cases are discussed. In particular, under the paraxial approximation our results reduce to the corresponding paraxial ones. Numerical calculation examples are given to illustrate the dependence of intensity and spectral degree of coherence on the beam order $m$, \textit{$\xi $} and $f$ parameters, and to compare the difference between the paraxial and nonparaxial results.     

Dynamics of topological multipoles: II. Creation, annihilation, and evolution of nonparaxial optical vortices

The behavior of nonparaxial combined beams transferring two or four optical vortices with opposite topological charges (topological dipole or quadrupole) is studied. The paraxial and nonparaxial approaches are compared. It is shown that the behavior of a topologically neutral wave system is well characterized by the position of a representative point on the parametric plane. It is found that there exists a large region on this plane for which spatial trajectories of the optical vortices, both for dipoles and quadrupoles, do not intersect the focal plane, i.e., the vortices cannot exist within the forbidden zone. At the edges of the forbidden zone, the vortices are either created or annihilated. In contrast, there exists a region on the parametric plane for which the optical vortices can exist only near the waist plane.     

矢量非傍轴离轴高斯光束的传输

基于矢量瑞利-索末菲衍射积分公式，得出了波动方程的一个解，它代表矢量非傍轴离轴高斯光束，其在自由空间的传输方程表示为解析的结果.矢量非傍轴离轴高斯光束的轴上和远场公式，矢量非傍轴高斯光束的传输方程，以及傍轴的结果都可作为一般表达式的特例而得出.研究表明，f参数对光束的非傍轴特性有重要影响，而离心参数也影响非傍轴行为.与共轴情况不同的是，对离轴情况，在y方向存在场的纵向分量. 关键词： 激光光学 矢量非傍轴离轴高斯光束 瑞利-索末菲衍射积分 f参数 离轴参数     

Exact nonparaxial beams of the scalar Helmholtz equation

It is shown that three-dimensional nonparaxial beams are described by the oblate spheroidal exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation. For what is believed to be the first time, their beam behavior is investigated and their corresponding parameters are defined. Using the fact that the beam width of the family of paraxial Gaussian beams is described by a hyperbola, we formally establish the connection between the physical parameters of nonparaxial spheroidal beam solutions and those of paraxial beams. These results are also helpful for investigating exact vector nonparaxial beams.     

Nonparaxial propagation of linearly polarized modified Bessel–Gaussian beams and phase singularities of the electromagnetic field components

Based on an operator transformation technique and the nonparaxial propagation results of linearly polarized Gaussian beams, the nonparaxial propagation formulas of linearly polarized modified Bessel–Gaussian beams with optical vortices are constructed. Numerical investigations indicate that electromagnetic field components associated with the beams exhibit different phase singularities.     

Calculation of radiation acoustical fields from phased arrays with nonparaxial multi-Gaussian beam model

A nonparaxial multi-Gaussian beam model based on the rectangular aperture is proposed in order to overcome the limitation of paraxial Gaussian beam model which losing accuracy in off-axis beam fields. With the method, acoustical field generated by an ultrasonic linear phased array transducer is calculated and compared with the corresponding field obtained by Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral, paraxial multi-Gaussian beam model, and Fraunhoffer approximation method. Simulation examples show that nonparaxial multi-Gaussian beam model is not limited by the paraxial approximation condition and can predict efficiently and accurately the acoustical field radiated by a linear phased array transducer over a wide range of steering angles.     

Generation of linear and nonlinear nonparaxial accelerating beams

We study linear and nonlinear self-accelerating beams propagating along circular trajectories beyond the paraxial approximation. Such nonparaxial accelerating beams are exact solutions of the Helmholtz equation, preserving their shapes during propagation even under nonlinearity. We generate experimentally and observe directly these large-angle bending beams in colloidal suspensions of polystyrene nanoparticles.     

Vortex and anti-vortex compositions of exact elegant Laguerre–Gaussian vector beams

Reformulation of conventional beam definitions into their bidirectional versions and use of Hertz potentials make beam fields exact vector solutions to Maxwell’s equations. This procedure is applied to higher-order elegant Laguerre–Gaussian beams of transverse magnetic and transverse electric polarization. Their vortex and anti-vortex co-axial compositions of equal and opposite topological charges are given in a closed analytic form. Polarization components of the composed beams are specified by their radial and azimuthal indices. The longitudinal components are common for beam compositions of both types; meanwhile, their transverse components are different and comprise two—nonparaxial and paraxial—separate parts distinguished by a paraxial parameter and its inverse, respectively. The new solutions may appear useful in modeling and tailoring of arbitrary vector beams.     

Nonparaxial propagation of a super-Lorentz-Gauss SLGmode beam

Based on the vectorial Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral formulae,this paper derives the analytical nonparaxial propagation equation of a super-Lorentz-Gauss (SLG) SLG 01 mode beam in free space.The far field expression and the scalar paraxial result are treated with special cases of the general formulae.According to the obtained analytical representation,the nonparaxial propagation properties of the SLG 01 mode beam are illustrated and analysed with numerical examples.This research provides an approach to investigate the propagation of the SLG 01 mode beam within the framework of the nonparaxial regime.     

Vectorial partially coherent flat-topped beams and their nonparaxial propagation

The concept of vectorial partially coherent flat-topped beams is proposed, and their nonparaxial propagation in free space is studied in detail. Based on the vector Rayleigh diffraction integral formulae, the analytical propagation expressions for the cross-spectral density matrix of the polarized vectorial nonparaxial partially coherent flat-topped beams are derived and applied to study the nonparaxial propagation properties of vectorial partially coherent flat-topped beams. The effect of propagation parameters on the intensity and the coherence property of the nonparaxial vectorial partially coherent flat-topped beam is illustrated and analyzed comparatively with the corresponding paraxial results.     

Nonparaxial propagation of a super-Lorentz－Gauss SLG01 mode beam

Based on the vectorial Rayleigh--Sommerfeld integral formulae, this paper derives the analytical nonparaxial propagation equation of a super-Lorentz--Gauss (SLG) SLG₀₁ mode beam in free space. The far field expression and the scalar paraxial result are treated with special cases of the general formulae. According to the obtained analytical representation, the nonparaxial propagation properties of the SLG₀₁ mode beam are illustrated and analysed with numerical examples. This research provides an approach to investigate the propagation of the SLG₀₁ mode beam within the framework of the nonparaxial regime.     

Application of the Wigner distribution function to complex-argument Hermite– and Laguerre–Gaussian beams beyond the paraxial approximation

The Wigner distribution function (WDF) is applied to study the propagation of complex-argument Hermite–Gaussian (HG) and Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) beams beyond the paraxial approximation. The analytical expressions for their intensity distributions in free-space propagation are derived, which are expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials for nonparaxial complex-argument HG beams and in terms of the sum of finite Hermite polynomials for nonparaxial complex-argument LG beams. A detailed comparison of the WDF approach, series expansion method and paraxial expressions is made, which shows that in the paraxial regime the WDF approach and series expansion method deliver consistent results with that of paraxial expressions. Beyond the paraxial approximation, the WDF approach offers convergent results, whereas the series expansion method has a limited applicable range, within which it gives consistent results with that of WDF approach but beyond which it gives unrealistic and divergent results.