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.     

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.     

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.     

非傍轴双光束势阱产生的辐射力

分析了两束相对传输的非傍轴高斯光束相干叠加形成的双光束势阱对瑞利粒子产生的辐射力,并作了数值计算,结果表明,与傍轴双光束势阱相比,非傍轴双光束势阱的辐射力有明显的不同,纵向辐射力和横向辐射力都增大,y方向平衡点数目由一个增加到多个,且势阱更深,横向辐射力变化趋势更陡,更有利于微粒的精确定位,与非傍轴单光束势阱相比,势阱更深,所产生的辐射力更大,因而更利于控制瑞利粒子。     

复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束的束腰及其位置

 由复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束通过近轴-ABCD-光学系统传输公式，推导出了基于二阶矩定义的光斑尺寸的解析表达式，给出了复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束在自由空间传输和通过薄透镜时的光斑尺寸、束腰宽度及其位置的解析表达式，并进行了数值计算，对计算结果进行了分析和讨论，该方法可用于其它光束通过近轴ABCD光学系统的类似计算。     

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.     

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。     

复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束的束腰及其位置

由复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束通过近轴-ABCD-光学系统传输公式,推导出了基于二阶矩定义的光斑尺寸的解析表达式,给出了复宗量双曲余弦高斯光束在自由空间传输和通过薄透镜时的光斑尺寸、束腰宽度及其位置的解析表达式,并进行了数值计算,对计算结果进行了分析和讨论,该方法可用于其它光束通过近轴ABCD光学系统的类似计算。     

Elegant Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian beams

A novel family of paraxial laser beams called elegant Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian beams (EHLGBs) are presented. The EHLGBs, a unity of elegant Hermite-Gaussian beams (EHGBs) and elegant Laguerre-Gaussian beams (ELGBs), constitute the exact and continuous transition modes between EHGBs and ELGBs when an additional parameter continuously changes. The virtual source for generation of the EHLGBs is identified. From the spectral representation of the elegant Hermite-Lauguerre-Gaussian waves, we derive the first three orders of nonparaxial corrections for the corresponding paraxial EHLGBs.     

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.     

Propagation of paraxial circular symmetric beams in a general optical system

Starting from flattened Gaussian beams, we deduce analytical expressions for the propagation of paraxial circular symmetric beams through a general first-order optical system. It is shown that the propagation of any scalar beam in a paraxial domain takes the same form as that in free space. Three parameters were introduced to characterize the evolution of the propagating beam. Numerical examples are also presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this method.     

Propagation properties of ultrashort pulsed beams with constant waist width in free space

Based on the Rayleigh diffraction integral and complex analytical signal representation, the strict propagation expression and its Fourier spectrum for ultrashort pulsed Gaussian beams with constant waist width are derived, which have the general applicable advantage, because the paraxial approximation, pulsed envelope representation and far-field approximation are not invoked. The far-field and paraxial expressions are obtained as the special cases of our general results. Numerical calculation results are given to illustrate the spatiotemporal propagation properties of few- and single-cycle pulsed Gaussian beams with constant waist width. A comparison with the paraxial results and previous work is also made.     

Propagation properties of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model beams through an axis-unsymmetric paraxial ABCD system

By using the beam coherence-polarization (BCP) matrix approach, analytical propagation equations of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model (PGSM) beams through an axis-unsymmetric paraxial optical ABCD system are derived, which enable us to study the propagation-induced polarization changes and irradiance distributions at any propagation distance of PGSM beams through axis-unsymmetric systems within the framework of the paraxial approximation. Detailed numerical results for a PGSM beam passing through a bifocal lens are presented to illustrate the propagation properties of PGSM beams. A comparison with the previous work is also made.     

Virtual sources for a cosh-Gaussian beam

On the basis of superposition of beams, a group of virtual sources that generate a cosh-Gaussian wave is identified. A closed-form expression is derived for this cosh-Gaussian wave, which, in the appropriate limit, yields the paraxial approximation for the cosh-Gaussian beam. From this expression, the paraxial approximation and the nonparaxial corrections of all orders for the corresponding paraxial cosh-Gaussian beam are determined.     

Vectorial Hermite--Laguerre--Gaussian beams beyond the paraxial approximation

Starting from the vectorial Rayleigh--Sommerfeld integrals, the free-space propagation expressions for vectorial Hermite--Laguerre--Gaussian (HLG) beams beyond the paraxial approximation are derived. The far-field expressions and the scalar paraxial results are given as special cases of our general expressions. The intensity distributions of vectorial nonparaxial HLG beams are studied and illustrated with numerical examples.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Angular spectrum of quantized light beams

We introduce a generalized angular spectrum representation for quantized light beams. By using our formalism, we are able to derive simple expressions for the electromagnetic vector potential operator in the case of (a) time-independent paraxial fields, (b) time-dependent paraxial fields, and (c) nonparaxial fields. For the first case the well-known paraxial results are fully recovered.     

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.