Topological dichroism and birefringence of twisted light

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Abstract

Material anisotropy produces differential absorption and birefringence of linearly polarized light; material chirality leads to differential absorption and birefringence of circularly polarized light. Here we highlight how anisotropic media can produce a differential absorption and birefringence which depends on the sign of the topological charge ℓ of a focused optical vortex beam. Manifesting purely through electric-dipole interactions and proportional to the paraxial parameter to first-order, these topological-charge-dependent light-matter interactions are significantly larger than current ℓ-dependent effects which require material chirality and extremely focused light. The interactions described within represent a novel method for probing the local structure of advanced materials and nanoscale light.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNanophotonics X
EditorsDavid L. Andrews, Angus J. Bain, Antonio Ambrosio
PublisherSPIE
Pages51-59
Number of pages9
Volume12991
ISBN (Electronic)9781510673007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jun 2024

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume12991
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Keywords

  • Structured light
  • anisotropic
  • birefringence
  • dichroism
  • light-matter interactions
  • optical angular momentum
  • polarization
  • topological charge

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