Vector space-time wave packets

TL;DR

This paper reports the synthesis of vector space-time wave packets with cylindrically symmetric polarization structures, enabling advanced control over their spatial, temporal, and polarization properties for applications in optics.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental realization of vector space-time wave packets with complex polarization structures, expanding beyond scalar STWPs.

Findings

Successfully synthesized vector STWPs with polarization-structured spectra

Unveiled polarization distribution via time-resolved complex field measurements

Demonstrated potential applications in particle manipulation and quantum optics

Abstract

Space-time wave packets (STWPs) are propagation-invariant pulsed beams whose characteristics stem from the tight association between their spatial and temporal degrees of freedom. Until recently, only scalar STWPs have been synthesized in the form of light sheets. Here we synthesize vector STWPs that are localized in all dimensions by preparing polarization-structured spatio-temporal spectra and unveil the polarization distribution over the STWP volume via time-resolved complex field measurements. Such vector STWPs are endowed with cylindrically symmetric polarization vector structures, which require joint manipulation of the spatial, temporal, and polarization degrees-of-freedom of the optical field. These results may be useful in particle manipulation, and in nonlinear and quantum optics.