Interplay between topological phase and self-acceleration in a vortex symmetric Airy beam

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Quantum Information Science

Background:

• Optical vortices carry orbital angular momentum, crucial for applications like micro-particle manipulation and quantum information encoding.
• Controlling the propagation path of optical vortices, especially for non-diffracting and self-healing beams, presents significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the manipulation of an optical vortex's propagation trace using a symmetric Airy beam (SAB).
• To explore the potential of vortex symmetric Airy beams (VSAB) for advanced optical applications.

Main Methods:

• Implementing a topological phase structure of a coaxial vortex with an SAB.
• Utilizing slight misalignment between the vortex and SAB to guide the vortex into self-accelerating channels.
• Analyzing the Poynting vector to understand energy flow direction.

Main Results:

• The SAB exhibited self-rotation when combined with a coaxial vortex's topological phase structure.
• Optical vortices were successfully guided into self-accelerating channels by misaligning them with the SAB.
• Embedded off-axis vortices within the SAB followed the major lobe's trajectory.

Conclusions:

• The proposed vortex symmetric Airy beam (VSAB) effectively manipulates optical vortex propagation.
• This technique offers new avenues for optical manipulation and optical communication systems.