Kalman filters are routinely used for many data fusion applications including navigation, tracking, and simultaneous localization and mapping problems. However, significant time and effort is frequently required to tune various Kalman filter model parameters, e.g. process noise covariance, pre-whitening filter models for non-white noise, etc. Conventional optimization techniques for tuning can get stuck in poor local minima and can be expensive to implement with real sensor data. To address these issues, a new "black box" Bayesian optimization strategy is developed for automatically tuning Kalman filters. In this approach, performance is characterized by one of two stochastic objective functions: normalized estimation error squared (NEES) when ground truth state models are available, or the normalized innovation error squared (NIS) when only sensor data is available. By intelligently sampling the parameter space to both learn and exploit a nonparametric Gaussian process surrogate function for the NEES/NIS costs, Bayesian optimization can efficiently identify multiple local minima and provide uncertainty quantification on its results.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the complete and simultaneous modulation of the amplitude, phase and arbitrary state of polarization of optical beams. Based on a 4-f system including a spatial light modulator (SLM), two orthogonally polarized beams serving as the base vector components are produced by a computer generated hologram. The complex amplitude of orthogonal components is realized by a macro-pixel encoding technique purposely designed for phase-only SLMs. Vector beams can be created from the coaxial superposition of the two base beams. This enables us to design optical fields with arbitrarily structured amplitude, phase and polarization by using only one SLM, and thus provides an easy-to-implement route for exploring the novel effects and expanding the functionality of vector beams with space-variant parameters.

Optical wave packets that are localized in space and time, but nevertheless overcome diffraction and travel rigidly in free space, are a long sought-after field structure with applications ranging from microscopy and remote sensing, to nonlinear and quantum optics. However, synthesizing such wave packets requires introducing non-differentiable angular dispersion with high spectral precision in two transverse dimensions, a capability that has eluded optics to date. Here, we describe an experimental strategy capable of sculpting the spatio-temporal spectrum of a generic pulsed beam by introducing arbitrary radial chirp via two-dimensional conformal coordinate transformations of the spectrally resolved field. This procedure yields propagation-invariant 'space-time' wave packets localized in all dimensions, with tunable group velocity in the range from 0.7c to 1.8c in free space, and endowed with prescribed orbital angular momentum. By providing unprecedented flexibility in sculpting the three-dimensional structure of pulsed optical fields, our experimental strategy promises to be a versatile platform for the emerging enterprise of space-time optics.

A caustic vector vortex optical field is experimentally generated and demonstrated by a caustic-based approach. The desired caustic with arbitrary acceleration trajectories, as well as the structured states of polarization (SoP) and vortex orders located in different positions in the field cross-section, is generated by imposing the corresponding spatial phase function in a vector vortex optical field. Our study reveals that different spin and orbital angular momentum flux distributions (including opposite directions) in different positions in the cross-section of a caustic vector vortex optical field can be dynamically managed during propagation by intentionally choosing the initial polarization and vortex topological charges, as a result of the modulation of the caustic phase. We find that the SoP in the field cross-section rotates during propagation due to the existence of the vortex. The unique structured feature of the caustic vector vortex optical field opens the possibility of multi-manipulation of optical angular momentum fluxes and SoP, leading to more complex manipulation of the optical field scenarios. Thus this approach further expands the functionality of an optical system.

We propose to use a super-structured waveplate (called an S-waveplate) for vectorial optical vortex filtering, and experimentally demonstrate the radial Hilbert transform and selective edge enhancement. Based on the Jones calculus of polarization states and Fourier analysis, we calculate and analyze the point spread function of an optical 4-f system including an S-waveplate filter having the vectorial vortex of topological charge 1 (TC = 1). Numerical simulations and optical experiments demonstrate that a vectorial optical vortex filter can be used to implement selective edge enhancement with an analyzer before the output plane. The edge enhancement can be obtained even when the center of the filter is off-axis or the illuminating light is non-monochromatic.

Quantum devices for generating entangled states have been extensively studied and widely used. As so, it becomes necessary to verify that these devices truly work reliably and efficiently as they are specified. Here we experimentally realize the recently proposed two-qubit entangled state verification strategies using both local measurements (nonadaptive) and active feed-forward operations (adaptive) with a photonic platform. About 3283/536 number of copies (N) are required to achieve a 99% confidence to verify the target quantum state for nonadaptive/adaptive strategies. These optimal strategies provide the Heisenberg scaling of the infidelity $${\it{\epsilon }}$$ ϵ as a function of N ($${\it{\epsilon }}\sim N^{r}$$ ϵ ~ N r ) with the parameter r = −1, exceeding the standard quantum limit with r = −0.5. We experimentally obtain the scaling parameters of r = −0.88 ± 0.03 and −0.78 ± 0.07 for nonadaptive and adaptive strategies, respectively. Our experimental work could serve as a standardized procedure for the verification of quantum states.

Optical wave packets that are localized in space and time, but nevertheless overcome diffraction and travel rigidly in free space, are a long sought-after field structure with applications ranging from microscopy and remote sensing, to nonlinear and quantum optics. However, synthesizing such wave packets requires introducing non-differentiable angular dispersion with high spectral precision in two transverse dimensions, a capability that has eluded optics to date. Here, we describe an experimental strategy capable of sculpting the spatio-temporal spectrum of a generic pulsed beam by introducing arbitrary radial chirp via two-dimensional conformal coordinate transformations of the spectrally resolved field. This procedure yields propagation-invariant ‘space-time’ wave packets localized in all dimensions, with tunable group velocity in the range from 0.7c to 1.8c in free space, and endowed with prescribed orbital angular momentum. By providing unprecedented flexibility in sculpting the three-dimensional structure of pulsed optical fields, our experimental strategy promises to be a versatile platform for the emerging enterprise of space-time optics.

An extension of the Gerchberg–Saxton algorithm from two dimensions to three is used to configure a continuous optical trap geometry. Intensity tailoring in a continuous, three-dimensional (3D) volume rather than in multiple discrete two-dimensional planes yields flexible 3D holographic optical tweezers. A numerical simulation and optical demonstrations of continuous 3D beam shaping and particle trapping confirm the capabilities of the method.