Nondiffracting polarization textures enabled by anisotropic loss.

Area of Science:

• Wave physics
• Nonlinear optics
• Condensed matter physics

Background:

• Diffraction spreading limits wave propagation and texture stability.
• Controlling polarization textures is essential for advanced optical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel mechanism for suppressing diffraction of skyrmionic polarization textures.
• To demonstrate the formation of non-diffracting Stokes skyrmions.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing anisotropic absorption in inhomogeneous media.
• Employing dichroic media with longitudinally varying dichroism.
• Analyzing the behavior of skyrmionic textures in uniform refractive index media.

Main Results:

• Successfully compensated diffraction spreading of skyrmion tubes.
• Formed non-diffracting Stokes skyrmions.
• Demonstrated robustness against changes in beam size and shifts.

Conclusions:

• Anisotropic absorption provides a viable route to non-diffracting wave phenomena.
• The developed mechanism offers a new paradigm for controlling light polarization textures.
• This work has implications for optical communications and information processing.