Mitosis-like dynamic for conservation of OAM

Area of Science:

• Quantum Optics and Photonics
• Laser Physics and Applications
• Nonlinear Optics and Materials

Background:

• Orbital angular momentum (OAM) states, characterized by spiral azimuthal phase in electromagnetic fields, are fundamental to structured light.
• Laguerre-Gauss (LG) beams are common examples of OAM states, transformable into Hermite-Gauss (HG) beams via astigmatic transformations.
• Noncommutative optical operations offer new pathways for manipulating light properties and exploring fundamental physics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the conservation dynamics of orbital angular momentum (OAM) under combined noncommutative optical operations.
• To explore the effects of simultaneous astigmatic transformation and nonlinear up-conversion on OAM states.
• To analyze the resulting intensity distributions and their resemblance to biological cell division processes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a tilted spherical lens to perform astigmatic transformation on structured light beams.
• Employed a nonlinear ${\chi }^{\left(2\right)}$ crystal to facilitate an optical up-conversion process.
• Conducted numerical simulations and experimental measurements, including intensity, phase, and electric field profiling, supported by phase retrieval techniques.

Main Results:

• Observed a striking separation phenomenon in the second harmonic (SH) beam's intensity distribution, mirroring mitotic phases (metaphase, anaphase, telophase).
• Demonstrated that the combined astigmatic transformation and up-conversion process leads to complex OAM dynamics.
• Validated the observed phenomena through rigorous numerical simulations and experimental data, confirming the fidelity of the transformations.

Conclusions:

• The study reveals an unprecedented analogy between nonlinear optical processes and biological cell division in the context of OAM states.
• The noncommutative combination of astigmatic transformation and up-conversion provides a novel method for manipulating and analyzing structured light.
• Findings offer new insights into the fundamental physics of OAM conservation and open avenues for advanced optical information processing.