Syncopated Bessel beams

TL;DR

The paper introduces syncopated Bessel beams, a novel class of solutions to the paraxial equation that break azimuthal symmetry through sinusoidal phase modulation, resulting in deflected propagation and shifted symmetry.

Contribution

It presents the concept, analytical framework, and experimental validation of syncopated Bessel beams, highlighting their topological transformation and robustness.

Findings

Beam trajectory deflection due to azimuthal phase modulation

Shifted symmetry center off the optical axis

Preservation of topological properties during propagation

Abstract

We introduce the syncopated Bessel beam, a new class of exact solutions to the paraxial equation obtained by means of a sinusoidal modulation of the azimuthal phase at the source. This modulation imposes a phase rhythm that deliberately breaks the azimuthal symmetry, analogous to musical syncopation, and triggers a topological transformation that deflects the propagation trajectory and shifts the beam's center of symmetry off the optical axis, while preserving its self-scaling invariance that can be explained by the Madelung-Bohm formalism. An exact analytical framework, supported by experimental validation, reveals the intrinsic structural robustness and preservation of topological properties through propagation.