Isolated optical vortex knots
Isolated optical vortex knots
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DOI：
10.1038/nphys1504
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发表时间：
2010-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
19.6
通讯作者：
Padgett, Miles J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dennis, Mark R.;King, Robert P.;Padgett, Miles J.
三维空间中的自然和人工创建的光场包含零强度的线，称为光学涡旋(1-3)。在这里，我们描述了一种使用代数拓扑以结和链接形式创建具有隔离光学涡旋环的光束的方案。所需的具有纤维结和链接（4）的复杂场是由具有编织零点的抽象函数构造的，然后将结函数嵌入到传播的光束中。我们应用数值优化算法来增加光强度的对比度，使我们能够观察到几个光学涡旋结。这些打结的节点线作为波相位的奇点，决定了空间波场的拓扑结构，并且在其他三维波系统中应该有类似物，例如超流体（5）和玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚态（6,7）。
Natural and artificially created light fields in three-dimensional space contain lines of zero intensity, known as optical vortices(1-3). Here, we describe a scheme to create optical beams with isolated optical vortex loops in the forms of knots and links using algebraic topology. The required complex fields with fibred knots and links(4) are constructed from abstract functions with braided zeros and the knot function is then embedded in a propagating light beam. We apply a numerical optimization algorithm to increase the contrast in light intensity, enabling us to observe several optical vortex knots. These knotted nodal lines, as singularities of the wave's phase, determine the topology of the wave field in space, and should have analogues in other three-dimensional wave systems such as superfluids(5) and Bose-Einstein condensates(6,7).