39 research outputs found
Overcoming the Rayleigh Criterion Limit with Optical Vortices
We experimentally and numerically tested the separability of two independent
equally-luminous monochromatic and white light sources at the diffraction
limit, using Optical Vortices (OV), related to the Orbital Angular Momentum
(OAM) of light. The diffraction pattern of one of the two sources crosses a
phase modifying device (fork-hologram) on its center generating the
Laguerre-Gaussian (L-G) transform of an Airy disk. The second source, crossing
the fork-hologram in positions different from the optical center, acquires
different OAM values and generates non-symmetric L-G patterns. We formulated a
criterion, based on the asymmetric intensity distribution of the superposed L-G
patterns so created, to resolve the two sources at angular distances much below
the Rayleigh criterion. Analogous experiments carried out in white light allow
angular resolutions which are still one order of magnitude below the Rayleigh
criterion. The use OVs might offer new applications for stellar separation in
future space experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Utilization of photon orbital angular momentum in the low-frequency radio domain
We show numerically that vector antenna arrays can generate radio beams which
exhibit spin and orbital angular momentum characteristics similar to those of
helical Laguerre-Gauss laser beams in paraxial optics. For low frequencies (< 1
GHz), digital techniques can be used to coherently measure the instantaneous,
local field vectors and to manipulate them in software. This opens up for new
types of experiments that go beyond those currently possible to perform in
optics, for information-rich radio physics applications such as radio
astronomy, and for novel wireless communication concepts.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Changed title, identical to the paper published
in PR
Vortex precession in Bose-Einstein condensates: observations with filled and empty cores
We have observed and characterized the dynamics of singly quantized vortices
in dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensates. Our condensates are produced in a
superposition of two internal states of 87Rb, with one state supporting a
vortex and the other filling the vortex core. Subsequently, the state filling
the core can be partially or completely removed, reducing the radius of the
core by as much as a factor of 13, all the way down to its bare value. The
corresponding superfluid rotation rates, evaluated at the core radius, vary by
a factor of 150, but the precession frequency of the vortex core about the
condensate axis changes by only a factor of two.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Light guiding light: Nonlinear refraction in rubidium vapor
Recently there has been experimental and theoretical interest in cross-dispersion effects in rubidium vapor, which allows one beam of light to be guided by another. We present theoretical results which account for the complications created by the D line hyperfine structure of rubidium as well as the presence of the two major isotopes of rubidium. This allows the complex frequency dependence of the effects observed in our experiments to be understood and lays the foundation for future studies of nonlinear propagation
Optically written waveguide in an atomic vapor
We present the first demonstration of an optically written waveguide in an atomic vapor. By strongly pumping one rubidium transition, we are able to waveguide a weak probe beam at a different rubidium transition. These effects can be understood with reference to a model of the refractive index for a V system. [S0031-9007(99)08495-1]
Stable spinning optical solitons in three dimensions
We introduce spatiotemporal spinning solitons (vortex tori) of the
three-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation with focusing cubic and
defocusing quintic nonlinearities. The first ever found completely stable
spatiotemporal vortex solitons are demonstrated. A general conclusion is that
stable spinning solitons are possible as a result of competition between
focusing and defocusing nonlinearities.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Vortex solitons - Mass, Energy and Angular momentum bunching in relativistic electron-positron plasmas
It is shown that the interaction of large amplitude electromagnetic waves
with a hot electron-positron (e-p) plasma (a principal constituent of the
universe in the MeV epoch) leads to a bunching of mass, energy, and angular
momentum in stable, long-lived structures. Electromagnetism in the MeV epoch,
then, could provide a possible route for seeding the observed large-scale
structure of the universe.Comment: 17 pages with 2 figure