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.     

Statistical mechanics of two-dimensional point vortices: relaxation equations and strong mixing limit

We complement the literature on the statistical mechanics of point vortices in two-dimensional hydrodynamics. Using a maximum entropy principle, we determine the multi-species Boltzmann-Poisson equation and establish a form of Virial theorem. Using a maximum entropy production principle (MEPP), we derive a set of relaxation equations towards statistical equilibrium. These relaxation equations can be used as a numerical algorithm to compute the maximum entropy state. We mention the analogies with the Fokker-Planck equations derived by Debye and Hückel for electrolytes. We then consider the limit of strong mixing (or low energy). To leading order, the relationship between the vorticity and the stream function at equilibrium is linear and the maximization of the entropy becomes equivalent to the minimization of the enstrophy. This expansion is similar to the Debye-Hückel approximation for electrolytes, except that the temperature is negative instead of positive so that the effective interaction between like-sign vortices is attractive instead of repulsive. This leads to an organization at large scales presenting geometry-induced phase transitions, instead of Debye shielding. We compare the results obtained with point vortices to those obtained in the context of the statistical mechanics of continuous vorticity fields described by the Miller-Robert-Sommeria (MRS) theory. At linear order, we get the same results but differences appear at the next order. In particular, the MRS theory predicts a transition between sinh and tanh-like ω ? ψ relationships depending on the sign of Ku ? 3 (where Ku is the Kurtosis) while there is no such transition for point vortices which always show a sinh-like ω ? ψ relationship. We derive the form of the relaxation equations in the strong mixing limit and show that the enstrophy plays the role of a Lyapunov functional.     

Laguerre-Gaussian beams with complex and real arguments in a uniaxial crystal

A solution to the paraxial wave equation for Laguerre-Gaussian beams with complex and real arguments in a uniaxial crystal is found and analyzed. It is shown that the beams with a complex argument form a complete group of the solution, while the beams with a real argument satisfy the equation only for an arbitrary radial index, with the azimuthal index being fixed and equal to l = 1. The evolution of phase singularities is considered by the example of transformation of the structure of topological multipoles and generation of optical vortices.     

Interference of intersecting singular beams

A vorticity of the light field created by interference of two intersecting Laguerre–Gaussian singular beams is analysed. It is demonstrated that the number and location of the vortices present in the field depend on the propagation length as well as on the topological charges of the individual beams, their intersection angle and amplitude ratio.     

Topological Properties of Spatial Coherence Function

The topological properties of the spatial coherence function are investigated rigorously. The phase singular structures （coherence vortices） of coherence function can be naturally deduced from the topological current, which is an abstract mathematical object studied previously. We find that coherence vortices are characterized by the Hopf index and Brouwer degree in topology. The coherence flux quantization and the linking of the closed coherence vortices are also studied from the topological properties of the spatial coherence function.     

Current-driven transformations of a skyrmion tube and a bobber in stepped nanostructures of chiral magnets

It has been over 30 years since the concept of optical vortices was first proposed by Coullet et al.in 1989,and the field of structured beams has grown extremely.In the last two decades,partially coherent vortex beams(PCVBs)have received increasing interest in the fields of optical manipulation,optical communication,optical imaging,etc.,and great progress has been made in the area of the coherence singularities,generation methods,topological charge measurements,and promising applications of PCVBs.In this review,we firstly outline the basic concepts of PCVBs.We explicate the relationship between the coherence vortices and optical vortices,and the evolution behavior of optical vortices to coherence vortices is summarized in detail.We discuss a special form of coherence singularity,ring dislocation,mathematically and physically.The ring dislocation in the correlation functions under low coherence is dependent on the mode indices,which provide a feasible approach to measure mode indices of PCVBs.Subsequently,we summarize the various methods for measuring the topological charge of PCVBs,highlight the measurement method based on the cross-correlation function,and a physical explanation on the relation between ring dislocation and topological charge is given.After that,we review the recent advances on experimental generation of several kinds of PCVBs.Lastly,we give an overview on the potential applications of PCVBs.     

Structure of a nonparaxial gaussian beam near the focus: III. Stability,eigenmodes, and vortices

Exact analytical structurally stable solutions of the Maxwell equations for singular mode beams propagating in free space or a uniform isotropic medium are obtained. Approximate boundary conditions are chosen in the form of the requirement that in the paraxial approximation the fields of nonparaxial mode beams in the waist plane are transformed into the fields of eigenmodes and vortices of weakly guiding optical fibers with the axial symmetry of refractive index. It is shown that optical vortices, in spite of a rather complex structure of field distribution, do not experience substantial changes in the beam form and reproduce, in general features, the field of paraxial vortices. Linear perturbations of the characteristic parameters of mode beams do not change the structure of their electromagnetic field. Nonparaxial singular beams have one more important property, in addition to the fact that the structure of these beams in the paraxial approximation is similar to the structure of the fields of eigenmodes in a fiber. The propagation constants of eigenmodes of a fiber exactly coincide (in the first approximation of perturbation theory) with the projection of the wave vector of a mode beam on the optical axis (an analog of the propagation constant). The possibility of the paraxial transition for nonparaxial mode beams with arbitrary values of azimuthal and radial indices is shown. The properties of nonparaxial modes are illustrated by numerous examples. The solutions obtained and the results of their analysis can be used for exact matching optical fibers and laser beams in various applications.     

Interaction between strain and vorticity in compressible turbulent boundary layer

The interaction of strain and vorticity in compressible turbulent boundary layers at Mach number 2.0 and 4.9 is studied by direct numerical simulation(DNS)of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations.Some fundamental characteristics have been studied for both the enstrophy producing and destroying regions.It is found that large enstrophy production is associated with high dissipation and high enstrophy,while large enstrophy destruction with moderate ones.The enstrophy production and destruction are also correlated with the dissipation production and destruction.Moreover,the enstrophy producing region has a distinct tendency to be‘sheet-like’structures and the enstrophy destroying region tends to be‘tube-like’in the inner layer.Correspondingly,the tendency to be‘sheet-like’or‘tube-like’structures is no longer obvious in the outer layer.Further,the alignment between the vorticity vector and the strain-rate eigenvector is analyzed in the flow topologies.It is noticed that the enstrophy production rate depends mainly on the alignment between the vorticity vector and the intermediate eigenvector in the inner layer,and the enstrophy production(destruction)mainly on the alignment between the vorticity vector and the extensive(compressive)eigenvector in the outer layer.     

Dynamic behaviors of optical vortices in dual-core photonic crystal fibers

Novel evolution dynamics of optical vortices propagating in a dual-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is investigated, which can be explained well by using the equivalent dipole mode superposition principle. Thanks to the coupling between the two cores of PCF, exciting vorticity splitting and topological charge-flipping are achieved by inducing a vortex beam into one of the two cores of the PCF. What is more, the evolutions of two vortices located in each core separately can be controlled by means of modulating the initial phase difference of them. Our results may offer possibilities for applications of optical vortices, orbital angular momentum modulations, as well as optical communications.     

Anisotropic geophysical vortices

A survey is made of many types of coherent vortices in the Earth's ocean and atmosphere. These vortices often occur with strong, environmentally induced anisotropy in their velocity and vorticity fields. We propose a definition of the essential characteristics of coherent vortices and formulate hypotheses concerning their dynamical role in complex, anisotropic fluid motions. Finally, we analyze numerical solutions both for uniformly rotating, stably stratified three-dimensional flow and for two-dimensional flow for the phenomena of enstrophy cascade and dissipation, intermittency, isotropy in the appropriate coordinate frame, coherent vortex emergence, vortex population dynamics, and approach to a nonturbulent end state.     

单环多段光强分布检测光学涡旋拓扑荷值

针对涡旋光束检测范围局限这一问题, 提出了一种新的光学涡旋拓扑荷值检测方法-单环多段光强分布检测法, 它以分段数和环半径为两大检测常数, 将检测涡旋光束拓扑荷值范围扩大到了128种, 与以往利用旁瓣调控光学涡旋检测拓扑荷值方法相比, 检测范围扩大了1个数量级. 单环多段光强分布是基于计算机全息图实现在远场衍射焦平面上环半径相等的两束携带不同拓扑荷数的涡旋光束叠加后形成的光强分布. 计算机模拟和光学实验验证了所提出方法的可行性, 该方法在自由空间光通信领域具有一定的研究价值和应用潜力.     

Conversion of topological charge of optical vortices in a parametric frequency converter

It is shown that sum-frequency generation of light beams with vortices allows to construct vortices of different topological charges. An optical parametric amplifier enables to produce a vortex with opposite topological charge (to the reverse vortex). In this way, a frequency converter can be seen as a prototype of an optical processor which allows to produce simple arithmetical operations with topological charges of the interacting vortices.     

Generation of helical Ince-Gaussian beams with a liquid-crystal display

We generate helical Ince-Gaussian (HIG) beams by using complex amplitude and phase masks encoded onto a liquid-crystal display (LCD). These beams display an intensity pattern consisting of elliptic rings, whose number and ellipticity can be controlled, and a phase exhibiting a number of in-line vortices, each with a unitary topological charge. We show experimental results that display the properties of these elliptic dark hollow beams. We introduce a novel interference technique for generating the object and reference beams by using a single LCD and show the vortex interference patterns. We expect that these HIG beams will be useful in optical trapping applications.     

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.     

Geometrical optics of beams with vortices: Berry phase and orbital angular momentum Hall effect

We consider propagation of a paraxial beam carrying the spin angular momentum (polarization) and intrinsic orbital angular momentum (IOAM) in a smoothly inhomogeneous isotropic medium. It is shown that the presence of IOAM can dramatically enhance and rearrange the topological phenomena that previously were considered solely in connection to the polarization of transverse waves. In particular, the appearance of a new type of Berry phase that describes the parallel transport of the beam structure along a curved ray is predicted. We derive the ray equations demonstrating the splitting of beams with different values of IOAM. This is the orbital angular momentum Hall effect, which resembles the Magnus effect for optical vortices. Unlike the spin Hall effect of photons, it can be much larger in magnitude and is inherent to waves of any nature. Experimental means to detect the phenomena are discussed.     

Decaying two-dimensional turbulence in a circular container

We present direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional decaying turbulence at initial Reynolds number 5 x 10(4) in a circular container with no-slip boundary conditions. Starting with random initial conditions the flow rapidly exhibits self-organization into coherent vortices. We study their formation and the role of the viscous boundary layer on the production and decay of integral quantities. The no-slip wall produces vortices which are injected into the bulk flow and tend to compensate the enstrophy dissipation. The self-organization of the flow is reflected by the transition of the initially Gaussian vorticity probability density function (PDF) towards a distribution with exponential tails. Because of the presence of coherent vortices the pressure PDF become strongly skewed with exponential tails for negative values.     

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.     

Optical vortices generated by multi-level achromatic spiral phase plates for broadband beams

We analyze the characterizations of the optical vortices generated by a multi-level achromatic spiral phase plate. The effective topological charge of the multi-level fractional spiral phase plate is expanded into Fourier series and the analytical formula of the relative intensity of each component is obtained. It is shown that the fractional part of the topological charge sharply reduces the purity of vortices. Using the 36 levels achromatic spiral phase plate, we can obtain a vortex beam with purity larger than 95% across a bandwidth exceeding 140 nm in the visible region of the spectrum.     

Composite optical vortices in noncollinear Laguerre--Gaussian beams and their propagation in free space

Taking two Laguerre-Gaussian beams with topological charge 1 = ±1 as an example, this paper studies the composite optical vortices formed by two noncollinear Laguerre-Gaussian beams with different phases, amplitudes, waist widths, off-axis distances, and their propagation in free space. It is shown by detailed numerical illustrative examples that the number and location of composite vortices at the waist plane are variable by varying the relative phase β, amplitude ratio η, waist width ratio ξ, or off-axis distance ratio μ. The net topological charge lnet is not always equal to the sum lsum of charges of the two component beams. The motion, creation and annihilation of composite vortices take place in the free-space propagation, and the net charge during the propagation remains unchanged and equals to the net charge at the waist plane.     

Topological charge inversion in polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beams

The evolution of the global topological charge in a general polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beam is investigated. The leading order terms of the polynomial prefactor determines the global topological charge and can be expressed as a product of first order polynomials, each representing an optical vortex function. We show that the global topological charge is bounded by the order of the polynomial and change during propagation in steps of 2 every time one of the optical vortices undergo topological charge inversion. We investigate the locations of the flip planes where charge inversions occur and provide expressions for a number of special cases. Numerical results are provided for an example of such a polynomial astigmatic Gaussian beam.