Parabolic-accelerating vector waves

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new family of complex vector light beams that can accelerate along parabolic paths and have unique polarization properties, expanding the potential applications of vector beams.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel class of vector beams capable of parabolic acceleration and with uniform polarization orientation, a feature not previously observed in vector light fields.

Findings

Demonstration of vector beams with parabolic acceleration trajectories

Identification of uniform polarization orientation at different ellipticities

Potential applications in optical manipulation and microscopy

Abstract

Complex vector light fields have become a topic of late due to their exotic features, such as their non--homogeneous transverse polarisation distributions and the non-separable coupling between their spatial and polarisation degrees of freedom. In general, vector beams propagate in free space along straight lines, being the Airy-vector vortex beams the only known exception. Here, we introduce a new family of vector beams that exhibit novel properties that have not been observed before, such as their ability to freely accelerate along parabolic trajectories. In addition, their transverse polarisation distribution only contains polarisation states oriented at exactly the same angle but of different ellipticity. We anticipate that these novel vector beams might not only find applications in fields such as optical manipulation, microscopy or laser material processing, but extend to others.