Time-Varying Optical Spin-Orbit Interactions in Tight Focusing of Self-Torqued Beams

Abstract

Self-torque has recently been observed as a novel property of light that features time-varying orbital angular momentum (OAM) along a light pulse. This property offers an additional degree of freedom for manipulating light fields and light-matter interactions on ultrafast time scales. In this work, we theoretically study the self-torque's role in modulating tightly focused fields and reveal spin-orbit interactions (SOIs) in the focused fields using time-dependent vectorial diffraction theory. It is found that time-varying SOIs occur between the spin angular momentum (SAM), intrinsic OAM and extrinsic OAM. Specifically, the spin-to-orbit conversion, orbit-to-local-spin conversion, and optical spin-Hall effect are observed in the focused self-torqued beams. In particular, when the incident beams are circularly polarized, the time-dependent transverse SAM distributions will appear in the focal plane. Moreover, the self-torque of the focused light fields can be controlled via spin-to-orbit conversion. These observations could benefit potential applications in ultrafast light field modulation, microscopy, and optical manipulation.