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.     

离轴平顶高斯涡旋光束形成的合成光涡旋及其在自由空间中的传输

对两束拓扑电荷m_1,2=±1的平行、离轴平顶高斯涡旋光束在束腰面叠加形成的合成光涡旋及其在自由空间的传输做了研究.详细的数值计算和分析表明,合光涡旋的位置、数目和净拓扑电荷与光束的控制参数,包括相对位相,振幅比,束腰宽度比,相对离轴参数,光束阶数,以及传输距离有关,但拓扑电荷不总是守恒. 关键词： 奇点光学 合成光涡旋 平顶高斯涡旋光束 拓扑电荷     

Dynamic evolution of Riemann–Silberstein vortices for Gaussian vortex beams

The dynamic evolution of Riemann–Silberstein (RS) vortices for Gaussian vortex beams with topological charges m = ± 1 in free space is studied. It is shown that for Gaussian on-axis vortex beams there exist both RS vortex with m = + 2 and circular edge dislocation. For Gaussian off-axis vortex beams the circular edge dislocation splits into two RS vortices with opposite topological charges m = ± 1 and the RS vortex with m = + 2 decays into two vortices with same topological charges m = + 1. The motion of RS vortices takes place by varying the propagation distance, waist width, off-axis parameter, or topological charge. RS vortices for Gaussian vortex-free beams can be treated as a special case. The results are illustrated analytically and numerically.     

Vortex structure in superconductors with a many-component order parameter

Abstract

The phenomenological theory of superconductors with a many-component order parameter (OP) is developed. On the basis of a generalized Ginzburg-Landau functional, equations for a two-component-OP superconductor are derived. It is shown that such a superconductor is specified by three length dimensionality parameters—penetration depth λ, correlation length ζ, and width d of the boundary between two superconducting-phase domains. With λ ? d ? ζ, the equations for the OP of a superconductor in a magnetic field can be explored analytically. The transition from the superconducting to the mixed phase may occur not only by the formation of ordinary Abrikosov vortices, but also owing to vortices that have two cores, each transferring a half-integral flux quantum. The total flux transferred by a vortex certainly constitutes an integral quantum. The cores of such a dimer are interconnected by two domain walls, which exercise confinement within the dimer. The distance between the cores in the dimer is of the order of d. Within a domain wall that separates two superconducting-phase domains, a dimer may fall apart into two vortices with a half-integral flux quantum.

For many-component-OP superconductors in a magnetic field, vortex structures of a more complicated nature than a dimer may occur. An individual core may transfer a fractional flux quantum, but the structure as a whole transfers an integral flux quantum. Confinement of individual cores occurs owing to a complicated system of domain walls determined by the topological charges of these vortices.

Under certain conditions, on attaining field H _c1, vortices may arise first in the domain walls, carrying a fractional flux quantum, and then within the superconducting domains.     

The Effect of the Spin Angular Momentum on the Tight-Focusing Vortex Hollow Gaussian Beams

The propagation properties of a hollow Gaussian beam (HGB) carrying on-axis and off-axis vortices through a high numerical aperture lens are investigated. The intensity of the focused beam in the focal plane can be controlled by choosing the different topological charges, the beam order, and the semi-aperture angle. As intrinsic properties, vortex beams possess both spin and orbital angular momenta. The spin angular momenta (SAM) density can be treated as a vector in 3D since it exists in arbitrary orientation during the beam propagation. The vectors of SAM density orientation of the focused beam in 3D rotate around the central axis whose locations mainly rely on the vortices. The magnitude of the SAM density near the focus plane abruptly varies by altering the focal length of the lens. Under tightly focusing condition, two new pairs of vortices generate alternately on x and y axes in the vectorial electric fields, while the topological charges increase by one.     

Phase imaging from a diffraction pattern in the presence of vortices

We investigate phase imaging from a diffraction pattern in the presence of vortices. In particular we demonstrate that a difference map method for phase retrieval which contains a support constraint does not necessarily conserve the net topological charge of the trial wave field. Hence, no a priori information regarding the charges of the vortices is required for a successful phase retrieval.     

Discrete vortices on anisotropic lattices

We consider the effects of anisotropy on two types of localized states with topological charges equal to 1 in two-dimensional nonlinear lattices, using the discrete nonlinear Schr?dinger equation as a paradigm model. We find that on-site-centered vortices with different propagation constants are not globally stable, and that upper and lower boundaries of the propagation constant exist. The region between these two boundaries is the domain outside of which the on-site-centered vortices are unstable. This region decreases in size as the anisotropy parameter is gradually increased. We also consider off-site-centered vortices on anisotropic lattices, which are unstable on this lattice type and either transform into stable quadrupoles or collapse. We find that the transformation of off-sitecentered vortices into quadrupoles, which occurs on anisotropic lattices, cannot occur on isotropic lattices. In the quadrupole case, a propagation-constant region also exists, outside of which the localized states cannot stably exist. The influence of anisotropy on this region is almost identical to its effects on the on-site-centered vortex case.     

两束离轴高斯光束干涉场中的横向光涡旋

研究了两束离轴高斯光束干涉场中的波前结构以及横向光涡旋.研究表明干涉场中的相位鞍点以及涡旋点的位置与光束的离轴参数、束腰宽度、相位以及相对振幅有关.相位鞍点既可位于涡旋点的内侧，也可以位于涡旋点的外侧，且控制参数取一定值时，相位鞍点将与涡旋点重合.对于离轴光束，XZ平面两侧的相位鞍点与涡旋点相遇时所对应的控制参数并不相同，且XZ平面上相位鞍点相遇时所对应x值，一般情况下与涡旋点相遇时所对应的x值不相同.     

A Study of PMN Crystal Structure Below The Phase Transition Temperature

X-ray diffraction studies of PMN crystal at 103, 183, 203 K show that the disorder in shifts of Pb atoms below T _m develops successively with lowering temperature: from the preferentially uniaxial Pb displacements to equal disordered ones along the axes X, Y, Z. In PMN, in the absence of an external electric field the corresponding rhombohedral ferroelectric phase does not appear in the volume of a whole crystal. The relaxation rotations of oxygen octahedra BO₆ in the vicinity of T _m may be the cause for the appearance of superstructure.     

Phase structure of helico-conical optical beams

We examine the phase structures of Helico-Conical (HC) Optical Beams produced via computer-generated holograms (CGH). The CGHs of these beams are made such that the reconstruction will have a phase which is a product of a helical and a conical phase. Interference-based phase measurement technique reveals very distinct differences between the phases of the two types of HC Beams (K = 0 and K = 1). Most obvious is the presence of screw dislocations at the center of the beam for K = 1 while no screw dislocations are found at the center for K = 0. We also compare the experimental interference patterns with numerical interference patterns calculated by superimposing a field containing vortices at different positions and a plane wave. A remarkable similarity is seen between the interferograms, which is a good indication of the phase of these beams. Contour plots are drawn to show the phases of these beams. We observe a string of vortices with equal charge in contrast to the assumption that a string of alternating charges should be seen.     

Coherence vortex evolution of partially coherent vortex beams in the focal region

Taking Gaussian Schell-model vortex beams as an example of partially coherent vortex beams, we study the evolution and subwavelength structures of coherence vortices in the focal region. The dependence of coherence vortices on the truncation parameter δ, the normalized coherence length ε and the topological charges m is illustrated numerically. It is found that during the evolution process the innermost m coherence vortices and the saddle points near the coherence vortices always remain in the focal plane.     

Optical vortices and topological effects in coiled fibers with combined anisotropy

The propagation of optical vortices in coiled anisotropic elliptical fibers is studied. The structure of high-order modes and their propagation constants are determined. The possibility of the generation of TE and TM modes from optical vortices with a unit topological charge in weakly anisotropic coiled fibers is demonstrated. The topological effects that arise upon the propagation of radiation along strongly anisotropic elliptical coiled fibers are investigated. It is established that topological effects are suppressed by anisotropy in the case of the propagation of l = 1 modes; the effects are manifested in these fibers in the form of the rotation of the field intensity distribution by a solid angle spanned by the light trajectory only for certain combinations of l > 1 modes.     

Optical vortices in the scattering field of magnetic domain holograms

Experimental investigations and theoretical-model analyses have been made of the magnetooptic diffraction of light at ferrite garnet magnetic films with a banded domain structure which includes isolated magnetic grating defects in the form of “forks” and “breaks.” An analysis of the magnetic grating structure and the light diffraction field shows that in terms of its action on laser radiation, a banded domain grating is similar to a computer-synthesized phase hologram of an isolated pure screw-wavefront dislocation. It is shown that as a result of magnetooptic diffraction at a magnetic hologram, optical vortices may be reconstructed with a helicoidal wavefront carrying the topological charge l=±1,±2. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 54–58 (December 1998)     

Formation of a quadrupole vortex and a second-order optical vortex in caustics upon focusing of light by a two-component crystal-optics element

A wave field of a structurally stable diffraction caustic that is formed upon focusing of a collimated laser beam with the help of a two-component crystal-optics element consisting of uniaxial crystals is characterized by a crystal-like cellular structure. Near the cusp of this caustic (diffraction catastrophe), a well-pronounced localized quadrupole optical vortex is observed that consists of four isolated vortices with pairwise opposite topological charges of −1, +1, +1, and −1. The creation and annihilation points of this combined quadrupole vortex are determined. Upon reversal of the direction of propagation of the laser beam through the crystal-optics element, the caustic in the focal region has already become a binary combination and inhomogeneously polarized, and a second-order optical vortex is observed near the cusp of this caustic.     

Interactions of optical vortex solitons superimposed on different background beams

The interaction between two optical vortex solitons (OVS), formed on different background beams is analyzed numerically. Analogous to the one-dimensional case, vector OVS seem obtainable [12]. The relative topological charges of the interacting (off-axis) vortices are found to rule their propagation characteristics. Attraction is found in the case of equal charges, in contrast to the opposite case, where repulsion is present.     

Generation of rotating intensity blades by superposing optical vortex beams

A kind of optical beam with controllable rotating intensity blades is generated by coaxially superposing two optical vortex beams with frequency difference (Δω), different topological charges (m₁ and m₂) and equal amplitude. It is shown theoretically that the number of the blades is determined by the subtraction of topological charges (m₁ − m₂) and the angular velocity of the rotating pattern is equal to Δω / (m₁ − m₂). In our experiment, the rotating beams were generated by two optical vortex beams with opposite topological charges, where the frequency difference is acquired by a rotating plate glass. The results are quite in accordance with the simulations.     

Far-field spectral behaviour and spectral switching of super-Gaussian pulses

We have presented the far-field spectral behaviour of a super-Gaussian pulse diffracted through a rectangular aperture. It has been found that the on-axis modified power spectrum is always blue shifted, whose value increases with the increase in the value of the super-Gaussian parameter (m). For off-axis case, at some critical angle of diffraction, the diffraction induced far-field power spectrum is split into two lines of equal height. The far-field power spectrum is blue shifted when the diffraction angle is greater than the critical angle, whereas it is red shifted when the diffraction angle is less than the critical angle, i.e., spectral switching occurs. The critical angle for switching significantly increases with the increase in the super-Gaussian parameter (m). An important finding is that the switching frequency, the blue and red shift frequencies can be tuned by varying m.     

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.     

Velocity field vortices and Mermin-Ho vortices in two-component spinor BEC

In light of the φ-mapping topological current theory, two important vortex structures in two-component spinor BEC—the velocity field vortices and the Mermin-Ho vortices are discussed. It is revealed that these two different kinds of vortices are created respectively from the zero points of two different order parameter configurations in the condensates, and both their topological charges, locations and motions can be determined by the φ-mapping theory.     

Penetration of the magnetic field into a 3D ordered Josephson medium at small values of the pinning parameter

The current configurations and the profile of the magnetic field penetrating into a 3D ordered Josephson medium are calculated for I < I _C . The calculation algorithm (modified for finite-length samples) is based on analyzing the continuous variation of the configuration toward a decrease in the Gibbs potential. This algorithm makes it possible to find a configuration into which the Meissner state passes when I < I _C and an external field slightly exceeds H _max and trace the evolution of this configuration with a further rise in the field. At H > H _max, the magnetic field penetrates into the sample as a quasi-uniform sequence of plane vortices. When H is roughly equal to H ₀/2, where H ₀ is the outer field at which one fluxoid Φ₀ passes through each cell, the plane vortices disintegrate into linear ones centered in cells neighboring along the diagonal. As the field grows, the vortex pattern condenses: zero-fluxoid cells are gradually “filled” starting from the boundary. When the field approaches H ₀, a sequence of plane vortices centered in adjacent rows arises near the boundary. With a further increase in the field, sequences of linear vortices with a double fluxoid form at the boundary. Then, such a scenario is periodically repeated with a period H ₀ in the external field.