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Multi-mode optical chirality extremizations on the incident momentum sphere
Optics Express
|September 15, 2023
Summary
For multi-mode resonators, optical chiralities differ from single-mode cases and depend on incident direction. Polarization singularities guide directions for maximizing optical chirality, even when ideal circular dichroism values are not met.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Electromagnetism
Background:
- Previous work established a direct link between circular dichroism (CD) and the third Stokes parameter (S3) of quasi-normal mode (QNM) radiation in single-mode resonators.
- This relationship (CD = S3) simplifies the prediction of chiral optical responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the investigation of chiral optical responses to multi-mode resonators.
- To numerically explore the influence of incident wave direction on optical chirality.
- To analyze the role of QNM radiations and polarization singularities in multi-mode systems.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulations of plane wave scattering by multi-mode resonators.
- Analysis of quasi-normal mode (QNM) radiations.
- Investigation of circular polarization singularities in the scattered light.
- Calculation of circular dichroism (CD) based on extinction, scattering, and absorption.
Main Results:
- Optical chiralities in multi-mode resonators are generally different from single-mode cases.
- CD values in multi-mode systems do not consistently reach ideal ±1 across all directions.
- The direct correspondence CD = S3 is lost in the multi-mode regime.
- Polarization singularities effectively indicate directions for extremizing optical chirality.
Conclusions:
- The behavior of optical chirality is significantly more complex in multi-mode resonators compared to single-mode ones.
- While the simple S3 relationship breaks down, polarization singularities remain valuable indicators for optimizing chiral responses.
- Future research can leverage polarization singularities to control and enhance chiral optical effects in multi-mode systems.
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