Symmetries and helicity in optical vortices

David L. Andrews

doi:10.1117/12.2676759

4 October 2023 Symmetries and helicity in optical vortices

David L. Andrews

Proceedings Volume 12647, Active Photonic Platforms (APP) 2023; 126470B (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2676759
Event: SPIE Nanoscience + Engineering, 2023, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Optical vortices are beams of laser light in which photons are conveyed with a helical wavefront. With a corresponding azimuthal dependence in optical phase, their screw symmetry supports orbital angular momentum, strongly contrasting with the more familiar and quantitatively limited quantum spin. The study and methods of production of these beams now represent rapidly accelerating areas in optical physics and technology, driven by applications that include novel forms of interaction with structured matter. Conventional measures of optical helicity, usually associated with circular polarizations, are not suited to determining the mechanisms that underpin such optical vortex interactions. It is therefore of great interest to identify and characterize the symmetry aspects of the quantized fields of vortex radiation that relate to the beam, and which become manifest in these interactions. Despite the absence of most physical, 3D structural symmetry elements in chiral matter, careful consideration of fundamental charge-parity-time symmetry delivers key insights; duality symmetry between electric and magnetic fields is also involved. A photon-based analysis of such features reveals key features of significance for the nanoscale interactions of vortex beams, indicating new scope for suitably tailored experimental design.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

David L. Andrews "Symmetries and helicity in optical vortices", Proc. SPIE 12647, Active Photonic Platforms (APP) 2023, 126470B (4 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2676759

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