Vortex rings in paraxial laser beams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Interference of a fundamental vortex-free Gaussian beam with a co-propagating plane wave leads to nucleation of a series of vortex rings in the planes transverse to the optical axis; the number of rings grows with vanishing amplitude of the plane wave. In contrast, such interference with a beam carrying on-axis vortex with winding number l results in the formation of |l| rings elongated and gently twisted in propagation direction. The twist handedness of the vortex lines is determined by the interplay between dynamic and geometric phases of the Gaussian beam and the twist angle grows with vanishing amplitude of the plane wave. In the counter-propagating geometry the vortex rings nucleate and twist with half-wavelength period dominated by the interference grating in propagation direction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)31955-31968
Number of pages14
JournalOptics Express
Volume31
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 25 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

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