Observation of Toroidal Light Pulses

Zdagkas, Apostolos; Shen, Yijie; Pidishety, Shankar; Papasimakis, Nikitas; Zheludev, Nikolay I.; McDonnell, Cormac; Deng, Junhong; Li, Guixin; Ellenbogen, Tal

doi:10.1364/cleo_qels.2021.ff2k.2

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Such a pulse has salient topological singularities, which induce multiple singular vortex rings in its propagating electromagnetic field and skyrmionic topology is constructed by the electromagnetic vector field. The toroidal pulses are exact space-time non-separable solutions of the Maxwell's equations, which were first described in 1996 by Hellwarth and Nouchi [76] and experimentally observed very recently [77]. Toroidal pulses have potential to be generalized into super-toroidal structures, the fractal-like multi-toroid configuration with controlled order, where more intriguing topological structures can be observed, such as fractal patterns of singularity distribution, vortex rings, energy backflow [73].…”

Section: Skyrmions In Space-timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This would be important for development of new optical excitations with skyrmionic dipoles or multipoles. The creations of new form of topological electromagnetic multipole excitations promised its importance to unveil new chapter of lightmatter interaction [77,93]. Analogue mechanisms can be studied in skyrmionic light to find new forms and applications of light-matter interaction.…”

Section: Potential Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Topological quasiparticles of light: Optical skyrmions and beyond

Shen¹,

Zhang²,

Shi³

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Skyrmions are topologically stable quasiparticles that have been predicted and demonstrated in quantum fields, solid-state physics, and magnetic materials, but only recently observed in electromagnetic fields, triggering fast expanding research across different spectral ranges and applications. Here we review the recent advances in optical skyrmions within a unified framework. Starting from fundamental theories, including classification of skyrmionic states, we describe generation and topological control of different kinds of optical skyrmions in structured and time-dependent optical fields. We further highlight generalized classes of optical topological quasiparticles beyond skyrmions and outline the emerging applications, future trends, and open challenges. A complex vectorial field structure of optical quasiparticles with versatile topological characteristics emerges as an important feature in modern spin-optics, imaging and metrology, optical forces, structured light and topological and quantum technologies.

show abstract

Section: Skyrmions In Space-timementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topological quasiparticles of light: Optical skyrmions and beyond

Shen¹,

Zhang²,

Shi³

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Supertoroidal light pulses as electromagnetic skyrmions propagating in free space

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Topological complex transient electromagnetic fields give access to nontrivial light-matter interactions and provide additional degrees of freedom for information transfer. An important example of such electromagnetic excitations are space-time non-separable single-cycle pulses of toroidal topology, the exact solutions of Maxwell’s equations described by Hellwarth and Nouchi in 1996 and recently observed experimentally. Here we introduce an extended family of electromagnetic excitation, the supertoroidal electromagnetic pulses, in which the Hellwarth-Nouchi pulse is just the simplest member. The supertoroidal pulses exhibit skyrmionic structure of the electromagnetic fields, multiple singularities in the Poynting vector maps and fractal-like distributions of energy backflow. They are of interest for transient light-matter interactions, ultrafast optics, spectroscopy, and toroidal electrodynamics.

show abstract

Space-time wave packets localized in all dimensions

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Observation of Toroidal Light Pulses

Cited by 13 publications

References 35 publications

Topological quasiparticles of light: Optical skyrmions and beyond

Topological quasiparticles of light: Optical skyrmions and beyond

Supertoroidal light pulses as electromagnetic skyrmions propagating in free space

Space-time wave packets localized in all dimensions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About