Propagation properties of Airy-Gaussian vortex beams through the gradient-index medium.

Abstract

Propagation of Airy-Gaussian vortex (AiGV) beams through the gradient-index medium is investigated analytically and numerically with the transfer matrix method. Deriving the analytic expression of the AiGV beams based on the Huygens diffraction integral formula, we obtain the propagate path, intensity and phase distributions, and the Poynting vector of the first- and second-order AiGV beams, which propagate through the paraxial ABCD system. The ballistic trajectory is no longer conventional parabolic but trigonometric shapes in the gradient-index medium. Especially, the AiGV beams represent the singular behavior at the propagation path and the light intensity distribution. The phase distribution and the Poynting vector exhibit in reverse when the AiGV beams through the singularity. As the order increases, the main lobe of the AiGV beams is gradually overlapped by the vortex core. Further, the sidelobe weakens when the AiGV beams propagate nearly to the singularity. Additionally, the figure of the Poynting vector of the AiGV beams proves the direction of energy flow corresponding to the intensity distribution. The vortex of the second-order AiGV beams is larger, and the propagation velocity is faster than that of the first order.