Conservation Of Orbital Angular Momentum Research Articles

Conservation of orbital angular momentum for high harmonic generation of fractional vortex beams.

This work demonstrates conservation of average orbital angular momentum for high harmonic generation of fractional vortex beams. High harmonics are generated in reflected light beams in a three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The average orbital angular momentum of the beam is calculated when a relativistic linearly polarized fractional vortex beam impinges on a solid foil. The harmonic generation progress can be well explained by using the vortex oscillating mirror model. Both simulation and theoretical analysis show that the average orbital momentum of the nth harmonic is n times that of the fundamental frequency beam. This provides evidence that the average orbital angular momentum obeys momentum conservation during the harmonic generation of fractional vortex beams.

Whistler modes in highly nonuniform magnetic fields. II. Propagation in three dimensions

In a large laboratory plasma, the properties of whistler modes are investigated in highly nonuniform magnetic fields. In an extension to previous measurements in two dimensions (2D), the present work shows new phenomena such as wave splitting in the third dimension and shedding of cross-field helicon-like modes. Three-dimensional (3D) data also permit the correct calculations of the field derivatives (∇⋅, ∇×), helicity density (J ⋅ B), Hall electric fields, phase and energy flow, and out-of-plane field structures, which are not visible from 2D data. Novel findings are the loss of the angular momentum of an m = 1 helicon mode, the splitting of a single wave packet into two wave packets in the direction of the loop axis, and the shedding of perpendicular whistler modes with angular momentum. The 3D effects cannot be explained by nonuniformities in the density and the 2D ambient magnetic field B0. They may arise from the conservation of orbital angular momentum whose direction changes along a curved magnetic field. It results in a precessional motion which creates asymmetries in the third dimension. Further effects are the interference of oppositely propagating helicon modes on circular field lines which creates linear polarization near the conjugate point of the antenna. Detached whistler modes are excited in the oscillating near-zone field. The waves propagate nearly perpendicular to the ambient field. The field polarization is right-hand circular around the oblique wave vector k but not around B0. Since the wave field is force-free the wave magnetic field lines form twisted field lines or writhed flux tubes. From streamlines of hodogram normals, it is shown that the wave exhibits a helical phase flow similar to helicon modes. These observations show the complexity of whistler modes in nonuniform magnetic fields, even under the simplest conditions of a uniform, unbounded plasma and linear waves. The results may be of interest to other laboratory plasmas and space plasmas in nonuniform magnetic fields. Meaningful comparisons require 3D field data which are rarely available.

Nonlinear frequency doubling characteristics of asymmetric vortices of tunable, broad orbital angular momentum spectrum

We report on a simple experimental scheme to generate and control the orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectrum of the asymmetric vortex beams in a nonlinear frequency conversion process. Using a spiral phase plate (SPP) and adjusting the transverse shift of the SPP with respect to the incident Gaussian beam axis, we have transformed the symmetric (intensity distribution) optical vortex of order l into an asymmetric vortex beam of measured broad spectrum of OAM modes of orders l, l − 1, l − 2, …, 0 (Gaussian mode). While the position of the SPP determines the distribution of the OAM modes, we have also observed that the modal distribution of the vortex beam changes with the shift of the SPP of all orders and finally results in a Gaussian beam (l = 0). Using single-pass frequency doubling of the asymmetric vortices, we have transferred the pump OAM spectra, l, l − 1, l − 2, …, 0, into the broad spectra of higher order OAM modes, 2l, 2l − 1, 2l − 2, …, 0 at green wavelength, owing to OAM conservation in nonlinear processes. We also observed an increase in single-pass conversion efficiency with the increase in asymmetry of the pump vortices producing a higher power vortex beam of mixed OAM modes at a new wavelength than that of the pure OAM mode.

High-power, high repetition rate, tunable, ultrafast vortex beam in the near-infrared

We report on experimental demonstration of high power, ultrafast, high repetition rate (RR) vortex beam source tunable in the near-IR wavelength range. Based on single-pass optical parametric generation of Yb-fiber laser of vortex order lp = 1 in a 50 mm long MgO doped periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal, the source produces signal beam in vortex profile of order ls = 1 across 1433–1553 nm. Additionally, the source produces broadband idler radiation tunable across 3379–4132 nm in the Gaussian beam profile. We observed that the vortex profile of the pump beam is always transferred to the signal beam due to the highest overlapping integral among the interacting beams and the idler maintains a Gaussian spatial profile owing to the conservation of orbital angular momentum in optical parametric processes. For a pump power of 4.72 W, the signal and idler beams have a maximum power of 1.7 W at 1509 nm and 0.48 W at 3625 nm respectively. The signal vortex beam has output pulses of width ∼637 fs at a RR of 78 MHz. The signal (idler) has a spectral width of 4.3 nm (129.5 nm) and a passive peak-to-peak power fluctuation better than 3% (1.1%) over 30 min, respectively.

Orbital-angular-momentum mixing in type-II second-harmonic generation

We investigate the non linear mixing of orbital angular momentum in type II second harmonic generation with arbitrary topological charges imprinted on two orthogonally polarized beams. Starting from the basic nonlinear equations for the interacting fields, we derive the selection rules determining the set of paraxial modes taking part in the interaction. Conservation of orbital angular momentum naturally appears as the topological charge selection rule. However, a less intuitive rule applies to the radial orders when modes carrying opposite helicities are combined in the nonlinear crystal, an intriguing feature confirmed by experimental measurements.

Continuous-wave, singly resonant parametric oscillator-based mid-infrared optical vortex source.

We report on a high-power, continuous-wave source of optical vortices tunable in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelength range. Using the orbital angular momentum (OAM) conservation of the parametric processes and the threshold conditions of the cavity modes of the singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO), we have transferred the OAM of the pump beam at the near-infrared wavelength to the idler beam tunable in the mid-IR. Pumped with a vortex beam of order lp=1 at 1064nm, the SRO, configured in a four curved mirror-based ring cavity with a 50mm long MgO-doped periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal, produces an idler beam with an output power in excess of 2W in a vortex spatial profile with the order li=1, tunable across 2217-3574nm and corresponding signal beam in Gaussian intensity distribution across 1515-2046nm. For pump vortices of the order lp=1 and 2, and a power of 22W, the SRO produces idler vortices of the same order as that of the pump beam with a maximum power of 5.23 and 2.3W, corresponding to near-IR to mid-IR vortex conversion efficiency of 23.8% and 10.4%, respectively. The idler vortex beam has a spectral width, and a passive rms power stability of 101MHz and 4.9% over 2h, respectively.

Multiple generations of high-order orbital angular momentum modes through cascaded third-harmonic generation in a 2D nonlinear photonic crystal.

We experimentally demonstrate multiple generations of high-order orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes through third-harmonic generation in a 2D nonlinear photonic crystal. Such third-harmonic generation process is achieved by cascading second-harmonic generation and sum-frequency generation using the non-collinear quasi-phase-matching technique. This technique allows multiple OAM modes with different colors to be simultaneously generated. Moreover, the OAM conservation law guarantees that the topological charge is tripled in the cascaded third-harmonic generation process. Our method is effective for obtaining multiple high-order OAM modes for optical imaging, manipulation, and communications.

Orbital angular momentum modes of high-gain parametric down-conversion

Light beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are convenient carriers of quantum information. They can also be used for imparting rotational motion to particles and providing high resolution in imaging. Due to the conservation of OAM in parametric down-conversion (PDC), signal and idler photons generated at low gain have perfectly anti-correlated OAM values. It is interesting to study the OAM properties of high-gain PDC, where the same OAM modes can be populated with large, but correlated, numbers of photons. Here we investigate the OAM spectrum of high-gain PDC and show that the OAM mode content can be controlled by varying the pump power and the configuration of the source. In our experiment, we use a source consisting of two nonlinear crystals separated by an air gap. We discuss the OAM properties of PDC radiation emitted by this source and suggest possible modifications.

Extreme Ultraviolet Fractional Orbital Angular Momentum Beams from High Harmonic Generation

We investigate theoretically the generation of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) beams carrying fractional orbital angular momentum. To this end, we drive high-order harmonic generation with infrared conical refraction (CR) beams. We show that the high-order harmonic beams emitted in the EUV/soft x-ray regime preserve the characteristic signatures of the driving beam, namely ringlike transverse intensity profile and CR-like polarization distribution. As a result, through orbital and spin angular momentum conservation, harmonic beams are emitted with fractional orbital angular momentum, and they can be synthesized into structured attosecond helical beams –or “structured attosecond light springs”– with rotating linear polarization along the azimuth. Our proposal overcomes the state of the art limitations for the generation of light beams far from the visible domain carrying non-integer orbital angular momentum and could be applied in fields such as diffraction imaging, EUV lithography, particle trapping, and super-resolution imaging.

Radially dependent angular acceleration of twisted light.

While photons travel in a straight line at constant velocity in free space, the intensity profile of structured light may be tailored for acceleration in any degree of freedom. Here we propose a simple approach to control the angular acceleration of light. Using Laguerre-Gaussian modes as our twisted beams carrying orbital angular momentum, we show that superpositions of opposite handedness result in a radially dependent angular acceleration as they pass through a focus (waist plane). Due to conservation of orbital angular momentum, we find that propagation dynamics are complex despite the free-space medium: the outer part of the beam (rings) rotates in an opposite direction to the inner part (petals), and while the outer part accelerates, the inner part decelerates. We outline the concepts theoretically and confirm them experimentally. Such exotic structured light beams are topical due to their many applications, for instance in optical trapping and tweezing, metrology, and fundamental studies in optics.

Interaction of Ultraintense Laser Vortices with Plasma Mirrors.

Laser beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have found major applications in a variety of scientific fields, and their potential for ultrahigh-intensity laser-matter interactions has since recently been considered theoretically. We present an experiment where such beams interact with plasma mirrors up to laser intensities such that the motion of electrons in the laser field is relativistic. By measuring the spatial intensity and phase profiles of the high-order harmonics generated in the reflected beam, we obtain evidence for the helical wavefronts of the high-intensity laser at focus, and study the conservation of OAM in highly nonlinear optical processes at extreme laser intensities. The physical effects determining the field mode content of the twisted harmonic beams are elucidated.

Hollow Gaussian beam generation through nonlinear interaction of photons with orbital angular momentum.

Hollow Gaussian beams (HGB) are a special class of doughnut shaped beams that do not carry orbital angular momentum (OAM). Such beams have a wide range of applications in many fields including atomic optics, bio-photonics, atmospheric science, and plasma physics. Till date, these beams have been generated using linear optical elements. Here, we show a new way of generating HGBs by three-wave mixing in a nonlinear crystal. Based on nonlinear interaction of photons having OAM and conservation of OAM in nonlinear processes, we experimentally generated ultrafast HGBs of order as high as 6 and power >180 mW at 355 nm. This generic concept can be extended to any wavelength, timescales (continuous-wave and ultrafast) and any orders. We show that the removal of azimuthal phase of vortices does not produce Gaussian beam. We also propose a new and only method to characterize the order of the HGBs.

Arithmetic with optical topological charges in stepwise-excited Rb vapor.

We report on experimentally observed addition, subtraction, and cancellation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the process of parametric four-wave mixing that results in frequency up- and down-converted emission in Rb vapor. Specific features of OAM transfer from resonant laser fields with different optical topological charges to the spatially and temporally coherent blue light (CBL) have been considered. We have observed the conservation of OAM in nonlinear wave mixing in a wide range of experimental conditions, including a noncollinear geometry of the applied laser beams, and furthermore, that the CBL accumulates the total OAM of the applied laser light. Spectral and power dependences of vortex and plane wavefront blue light beams have been compared.

Classical to quantum optical network link for orbital angular momentum-carrying light.

Using orbital angular momentum (OAM) conservation in second-order nonlinear interaction processes, we create a classical to quantum optical network link in the OAM degrees of freedom of light via sum frequency generation, followed by spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Coherent OAM-carrying beams at 1550 nm are up-converted to 525.5-nm OAM-carrying beams in the first crystal, and are used to pump a second crystal to generate non-degenerate OAM entangled photon pairs at 795 nm and 1550 nm. By switching the OAM carried by the classical part, OAM correlation in the quantum part is shifted. High-level OAM entanglements in two-dimensional subspaces are verified.

Conservation of orbital angular momentum in air-core optical fibers

Light's orbital angular momentum (OAM) is a conserved quantity in cylindrically symmetric media; however, it is easily destroyed by free-space turbulence or fiber bends, because anisotropic perturbations impart angular momentum. We observe the conservation of OAM even in the presence of strong bend perturbations, with fibers featuring air cores that appropriately sculpt the modal density of states. In analogy to the classical reasoning for the enhanced stability of spinning tops with increasing angular velocity, these states' lifetimes with OAM magnitude. Consequently, contrary to convention wisdom that ground states of systems are the most stable, OAM longevity in air-core fiber increases with mode order. Aided by conservation of this fundamental quantity, we demonstrate fiber propagation of 12 distinct higher-order OAM modes, of which 8 remain low-loss and >98% pure from near-degenerate coupling after km-length propagation. The first realization of long-lived higher-order OAM states, thus far posited to exist primarily in vacuum, is a necessary condition for achieving the promise of higher-dimensional OAM-based classical and quantum communications over practical distances.

Orbital angular momentum light frequency conversion and interference with quasi-phase matching crystals

Light with helical phase structures, carrying quantized orbital angular momentum (OAM), has many applications in both classical and quantum optics, such as high-capacity optical communications and quantum information processing. Frequency conversion is a basic technique to expand the frequency range of the fundamental light. The frequency conversion of OAM-carrying light gives rise to new physics and applications such as up-conversion detection of images and generation of high dimensional OAM entanglements. Quasi-phase matching (QPM) nonlinear crystals are good candidates for frequency conversion, particularly due to their high-valued effective nonlinear coefficients and no walk-off effect. Here we report the first experimental second-harmonic generation (SHG) of an OAM-carried light with a QPM crystal, where a UV light with OAM of 100 ℏ is generated. OAM conservation is verified using a specially designed interferometer. With a pump beam carrying an OAM superposition of opposite sign, we observe interesting interference phenomena in the SHG light; specifically, a photonics gear-like structure is obtained that gives direct evidence of OAM conservation, which will be very useful for ultra-sensitive angular measurements. Besides, we also develop a theory to reveal the underlying physics of the phenomena. The methods and theoretical analysis shown here are also applicable to other frequency conversion processes, such as sum frequency generation and difference-frequency generation, and may also be generalized to the quantum regime for single photons.

On-demand generation of propagation-invariant photons with orbital angular momentum

We study the generation of propagation invariant photons with orbital angular momentum by spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) using a Bessel-Gauss pump beam. The angular and conditional angular spectra are calculated for an uniaxial crystal optimized for type I SPDC with standard Gaussian pump beams. It is shown that, as the mean value of the magnitude of the transverse wave vector of the pump beam increases, the emission cone is deformed into two non coaxial cones that touch each other along a line determined by the orientation of the optical axis of the nonlinear crystal. At this location, the conditional spectrum becomes maximal for a pair of photons, one of which is best described by a Gaussian-like photon with a very small transverse wave vector, and the othera Bessel-Gauss photon with a distribution of transverse wave vectors similar in amplitude to that of the incident pump beam. A detailed analysis is then performed of the angular momentum content of SPDC photons by the evaluation of the corresponding transition amplitudes. As a result, we obtain conditions for the generation of heralded single photons which are approximately propagation invariant and have orbital angular momentum. A discussion is given about the difficulties in the interpretation of the results in terms of conservation of optical orbital angular momentum along the vector normal to the crystal surface. The angular spectra and the conditional angular spectra are successfully compared with available experimental data recently reported in the literature.

An intracavity, frequency-doubled self-Raman vortex laser

We demonstrate intracavity frequency doubling of the self-Raman field generated within a diode end-pumped, solid state Nd:GdVO(4) vortex laser. A maximum output power of 727 mW is generated at 586 nm with an overall diode-to-yellow conversion efficiency of 4%. Conservation of orbital angular momentum is observed under intracavity frequency doubling, with the topological charge of the yellow beam being twice that of the Stokes beam.

Coherent control of plasmonic spectra using the orbital angular momentum of light

This study proposes a method to control the frequency-dependent scattering spectra from plasmonic spheres via the conservation of incident orbital angular momentum (OAM). By providing controllable distributions of OAM content, fractional vortex beams allow selective tailoring of Fano features present in coherent scattering processes. The applicability of this control methodology is briefly discussed in the context of plasmonic crystals that recent studies have shown possess modes described by a well-defined OAM content.

Optical orbital angular momentum conservation during the transfer process from plasmonic vortex lens to light

We demonstrate the optical orbital angular momentum conservation during the transfer process from subwavelength plasmonic vortex lens (PVLs) to light and the generating process of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Illuminating plasmonic vortex lenses with beams carrying optical orbital angular momentum, the SP vortices with orbital angular momentum were generated and inherit the optical angular momentum of light beams and PVLs. The angular momentum of twisting SP electromagnetic field is tunable by the twisted metal/dielectric interfaces of PVLs and angular momentum of illuminating singular light. This work may open the door for several possible applications of SP vortices in subwavelength region.