Abstract
Phase singularities are locations where light is twisted like a corkscrew, with positive or negative topological charge depending on the twisting direction. Among the multitude of singularities arising in random wave fields, some can be found at the same location, but only when they exhibit opposite topological charge, which results in their mutual annihilation. New pairs can be created as well. With near-field experiments supported by theory and numerical simulations, we study the persistence and pairing statistics of phase singularities in random optical fields as a function of the excitation wavelength. We demonstrate how such entities can encrypt fundamental properties of the random fields in which they arise.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 203903 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-5 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Physical Review Letters |
Volume | 119 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Nov 2017 |
Keywords
- phase singularities
- chaos
- nanooptics
- Michael Berry
- Lifelong Fidelity
- optical vortices
- topological defects
- nanophotonics
- near field
- random waves
- Evolution
- Chaotic systems
- many body interaction