High-power ultrafast radially and azimuthally polarized accelerating Airy beams and their particle-like lattice topologies

TL;DR

This paper presents the theoretical and experimental generation of high-power ultrafast radially and azimuthally polarized Airy beams, revealing particle-like lattice topologies and validating their electromagnetic properties through advanced nanofabrication and measurement techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to produce high-power ultrafast vector Airy beams with complex topologies using femtosecond laser inscribed nanogratings, advancing beam control and topological studies.

Findings

Successful generation of high-power ultrafast vector Airy beams.

Observation of particle-like skyrmionic and antiskyrmionic lattice topologies.

Validation of electromagnetic field distributions via Stokes parameter measurements.

Abstract

Accelerating Airy beams, known for their non-diffracting nature, self-healing properties, and curved propagation trajectories, are solutions to the paraxial wave equation. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally investigate nonuniform (radially and azimuthally) polarized vector Airy beams. We provide an analytical representation of their spatial spectra and examine their electromagnetic field distributions in space. To validate the theoretical model, we have used a nanograting inscribed inside a glass volume by a femtosecond laser to create geometrical phase elements, suitable for the realization of high-power ultrafast radially and azimuthally polarized vector Airy beams. We have conducted experiments that confirm the successful generation of high-power vector beams and have performed Stokes parameter measurements of these beams. Additionally, we explore both theoretically and experimentally their topology, identifying particle-like formations such as skyrmionic and antiskyrmionc accelerating lattices within the high-power ultrafast electric fields and their Stokes parameters.