Self-healing of vector field singularities

Abstract

We report here the self-healing ability of vector field singularities. While few studies discuss intensity healing in scalar beams, there is no report on polarization healing and healing of vector field singularities. Healing of polarization distributions from obstructions encountered by the beam is the high point of observation reported here as it entails healing of relative phases and amplitudes of the polarization component fields, in addition to intensity healing. This feature of robustness may play a significant role in applied research. The Poynting vector flow in the transverse plane of vector vortex beams is the key to the healing process. Since our investigation here is with vector field singularities, we also monitored the distribution of the Stokes parameter S3 to confirm the healing process.