Displacements and evolution of optical vortices in edge-diffracted Laguerre-Gaussian beams

TL;DR

This paper investigates how optical vortices in Laguerre-Gaussian beams evolve and displace when subjected to edge diffraction, revealing their spiral behavior and dependence on wavefront curvature, with implications for OV measurement and diagnostics.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of OV displacement and evolution in diffracted LG beams using Kirchhoff-Fresnel approximation, highlighting the transformation of wavefront curvature into vortex rotation.

Findings

OVs form 3D spirals under weak diffraction

Far-field OV positions depend on wavefront curvature

Input wavefront curvature transforms into OV rotation

Abstract

Based on the Kirchhoff-Fresnel approximation, we consider behavior of the optical vortices (OV) upon propagation of the diffracted Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams with topological charge |m| = 1, 2. Under conditions of weak diffraction perturbation (i.e. the diffraction obstacle covers only the far transverse periphery of the incident LG beam), the OVs describe almost perfect 3D spirals within the diffracted beam body, which is an impressive demonstration of the helical nature of an OV beam. The far-field OV positions within the diffracted beam cross section depend on the wavefront curvature of the incident OV beam so that the input wavefront curvature is transformed into the output azimuthal OV rotation. The results can be useful in the OV metrology and for the OV beam's diagnostics.