Optical Skyrmions

Barnett, S. M. , Cisowski, C. M., McWilliam, A., Speirits, F. C. , Ye, Z., Götte, J. B. and Franke-Arnold, S. (2023) Optical Skyrmions. In: Active Photonic Platforms (APP) 2023, San Diego, CA, USA, 20-25 Aug 2023, 126470A. ISBN 9781510665088 (doi: 10.1117/12.2676688)

Abstract

We show that Skyrmions provide a natural language and tool with which to describe and model structured light fields. These fields are characterised by an engineered spatial variation of the optical field amplitude, phase and polarisation. In this short presentation there is scope only for dealing with the simplest (and perhaps most significant) of these namely those that can be designed and propagate within the regime of paraxial optics. Paraxial Skyrmions are most readily defined in terms of the normalised Stokes parameters and as such are properties of the local polarisation at any given point in the structured light beam. They are also topological entities and as such are robust against perturbations. We outline briefly how Skyrmionic beams have been generated to order in the laboratory. Optics gives us access, also, to the Skyrmion field and we present the key properties of this field and show how it provides the natural way to describe the polarisation of structured light beams.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Barnett, Professor Stephen and Franke-Arnold, Professor Sonja and YE, Zhujun and Speirits, Dr Fiona and McWilliam, Ms Amy and Goette, Dr Joerg and Cisowski, Dr Claire Marie
• Authors: Barnett, S. M., Cisowski, C. M., McWilliam, A., Speirits, F. C., Ye, Z., Götte, J. B., and Franke-Arnold, S.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• ISSN: 0277-786X
• ISBN: 9781510665088
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 SPIE
• First Published: First published in Proceedings of SPIE 12647: 126470A
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
300116		Relativistic Electron Vortices	Stephen Barnett	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/R008264/1	P&S - Physics & Astronomy
313206		Helicity-dependent quantum phases.	Joerg Goette	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/V048449/1	P&S - Physics & Astronomy
312561		EPSRC DTP 2020/21	Christopher Pearce	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/T517896/1	Research and Innovation Services
307454		Claire Marie Cisowski - Newton Fellowship Application 2019	Sonja Franke-Arnold	The Royal Society (ROYSOC)	NIF\R1\192384	P&S - Physics & Astronomy