Co-word maps of biotechnology: an example of cognitive scientometrics

To analyse developments of scientific fields, scientometrics provides useful tools, provided one is prepared to take the content of scientific articles into account. Such cognitive scientometrics is illustrated by using as data a ten-year period of articles from a biotechnology core journal. After coding with key-words, the relations between articles are brought out by co-word analysis. Maps of the field are given, showing connections between areas and their change over time, and with respect to the institutions in which research is performed. In addition, other approaches are explored, including an indicator of lsquotheoretical levelrsquo of bodies of articles

Metamaterials for light rays: ray optics without wave-optical analog in the ray-optics limit

Volumes of sub-wavelength electromagnetic elements can act like homogeneous materials: metamaterials. In analogy, sheets of optical elements such as prisms can act ray-optically like homogeneous sheet materials. In this sense, such sheets can be considered to be metamaterials for light rays (METATOYs). METATOYs realize new and unusual transformations of the directions of transmitted light rays. We study here, in the ray-optics and scalar-wave limits, the wave-optical analog of such transformations, and we show that such an analog does not always exist. Perhaps, this is the reason why many of the ray-optical possibilities offered by METATOYs have never before been considered.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, references update

Local light-ray rotation

We present a sheet structure that rotates the local ray direction through an arbitrary angle around the sheet normal. The sheet structure consists of two parallel Dove-prism sheets, each of which flips one component of the local direction of transmitted light rays. Together, the two sheets rotate transmitted light rays around the sheet normal. We show that the direction under which a point light source is seen is given by a Mobius transform. We illustrate some of the properties with movies calculated by ray-tracing software.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Graphene-like optical light field and its interaction with two-level atoms

The theoretical basis leading to the creation of a light field with a hexagonal honeycomb structure resembling graphene is considered along with its experimental realization and its interaction with atoms. It is argued that associated with such a light field is an optical dipole potential which leads to the diffraction of the atoms, but the details depend on whether the transverse spread of the atomic wave packet is larger than the transverse dimensions of the optical lattice (resonant Kapitza-Dirac effect) or smaller (optical Stern-Gerlach effect). Another effect in this context involves the creation of gauge fields due to the Berry phase acquired by the atom moving in the light field. The experimental realization of the light field with a honeycomb hexagonal structure is described using holographic methods and we proceed to explore the atom diffraction in the Kapitza-Dirac regime as well as the optical Stern-Gerlach regime, leading to momentum distributions with characteristic but different hexagonal structures. The artificial gauge fields too are shown to have the same hexagonal spatial structure and their magnitude can be significantly large. The effects are discussed with reference to typical parameters for the atoms and the fields

Robust interferometer for the routing of light beams carrying orbital angular momentum

We have developed an interferometer requiring only minimal angular alignment for the routing of beams carrying orbital angular momentum. The Mach–Zehnder interferometer contains a Dove prism in each arm where each has a mirror plane around which the transverse phase profile is inverted. One consequence of the inversions is that the interferometer needs no alignment. Instead the interferometer defines a unique axis about which the input beam must be coupled. Experimental results are presented for the fringe contrast, reaching a maximum value of 93±1%

Rotational Doppler shift of the phase-conjugated photon

The rotational Doppler shift of a photon with orbital angular momentum $\pm \ell \hbar$ is shown to be an even multiple of the angular frequency $\Omega$ of the reference frame rotation when photon is reflected from the phase-conjugating mirror. We consider the one-arm phase-conjugating interferometer which contains $N$ Dove prisms or other angular momentum altering elements rotating in opposite directions. When such interferometer is placed in the rotating vehicle the $\delta \omega=4 (N+1/2) \ell \cdot \Omega$ rotational Doppler shift appears and rotation of the helical interference pattern with angular frequency $\delta \omega /{2 \ell}$ occurs. The accumulation of angular Doppler shift via successive passage through the $N$ image-inverting prisms is due to the phase conjugation, for conventional parabolic retroreflector the accumulation is absent. The features of such a vortex phase conjugating interferometry at the single photon level are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to referred journa

Arrays of dark optical traps on a toroidal surface

We have theoretically constructed light fields that can generate optical potentials representing rectangular arrays of dark optical traps on the surface of a torus. The arrays are not diffraction-limited, and their period can in principle be deeply sub-wavelength. We discuss the challenges anticipated in realising such potentials which will be of great interest for quantum simulations

Fourier transforming a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate by waiting a quarter of the trap period: simulation and applications

We investigate the property of isotropic harmonic traps to Fourier transform a weakly interacting Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) every quarter of a trap period. We solve the Gross–Pitaevskii equation numerically to investigate the time evolution of interacting BECs in the context of the Fourier transform, and we suggest potential applications

Simulation of superresolution holography for optical tweezers

Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic particles using foci of light beams. Their performance is therefore limited by diffraction. Using computer simulations of a model system, we investigate the application of superresolution holography for two-dimensional (2D) light shaping in optical tweezers, which can beat the diffraction limit. We use the direct-search and Gerchberg algorithms to shape the center of a light beam into one or two bright spots; we do not constrain the remainder of the beam. We demonstrate that superresolution algorithms can significantly improve the normalized stiffness of an optical trap and the minimum separation at which neighboring traps can be resolved. We also test if such algorithms can be used interactively, as is desirable in optical tweezers