Stokes parameters in the unfolding of an optical vortex through a birefringent crystal
2006; Optica Publishing Group; Volume: 14; Issue: 23 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1364/oe.14.011402
ISSN1094-4087
AutoresFlorian Flossmann, Ulrich T. Schwarz, Max Maier, Mark R. Dennis,
Tópico(s)Liquid Crystal Research Advancements
ResumoFollowing our earlier work [F. Flossmann et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 253901 (2005)], we describe the fine polarization structure of a beam containing optical vortices propagating through a birefringent crystal, both experimentally and theoretically.We emphasize here the zero surfaces of the Stokes parameters in three-dimensional space, two transverse dimensions and the third corresponding to optical path length in the crystal. We find that the complicated network of polarization singularities reported earlier -lines of circular polarization (C lines) and surfaces of linear polarization (L surfaces) - can be understood naturally in terms of the zeros of the Stokes parameters.
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