Polychromatic Electric Field Knots

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method to generate and engineer knotted trajectories of the electric field vector in polychromatic optical beams, enabling new topological structures in focused light fields.

Contribution

It presents an intuitive technique for creating and controlling optical knots using polychromatic beams with multiple frequencies and spatial modes.

Findings

Successfully generated various optical knots with different topologies.

Demonstrated control over knot density during propagation.

Provided insights into structured electromagnetic field interactions.

Abstract

The polarization of a monochromatic optical beam lies in a plane, and in general, is described by an ellipse, known as the polarization ellipse. The polarization ellipse in the tight focusing (non-paraxial) regime forms non-trivial three-dimensional topologies, such as M\"obius and ribbon strips, as well as knots. The latter is formed when the dynamics of specific polarization states, e.g., circular polarization states, are studied upon propagation. However, there is an alternative method to generate optical knots: the electric field's tip can be made to evolve along a knot trajectory in time locally. We propose an intuitive technique to generate and engineer the path traced by the electric field vector of polychromatic beams to form different knots. In particular, we show examples of how tightly focused beams with at least three frequency components and different spatial modes can cause the tip of the electric field vector to follow, locally, a knotted trajectory. Furthermore, we characterize the generated knots and explore different knot densities upon free-space propagation in the focal volume. Our study may provide insight for designing current densities when structured polychromatic electromagnetic fields interact with materials.