Radially Self-Accelerating Beams

TL;DR

This paper introduces non-paraxial optical beams that self-accelerate radially along spiraling paths, supported by theoretical solutions to the Helmholtz equation and experimental verification.

Contribution

It presents the first theoretical and experimental demonstration of radially self-accelerating beams solving the full scalar Helmholtz equation.

Findings

Beams follow spiraling trajectories

Theoretical solutions are verified experimentally

Beams exhibit continuous radial self-acceleration

Abstract

We report on optical non-paraxial beams that exhibit a self-accelerating behavior in radial direction. Our theory shows that those beams are solutions to the full scalar Helmholtz equation and that they continuously evolve on spiraling trajectories. We provide a detailed insight into the theoretical origin of the beams and verify our findings on an experimental basis.