3,788 research outputs found
Orbital angular momentum 25 years on [invited]
Twenty-five years ago Allen, Beijersbergen, Spreeuw, and Woerdman published their seminal paper establishing that light beams with helical phase-fronts carried an orbital angular momentum. Previously orbital angular momentum had been associated only with high-order atomic/molecular transitions and hence considered to be a rare occurrence. The realization that every photon in a laser beam could carry an orbital angular momentum that was in excess of the angular momentum associated with photon spin has led both to new understandings of optical effects and various applications. These applications range from optical manipulation, imaging and quantum optics, to optical communications. This brief review will examine some of the research in the field to date and consider what future directions might hold
An introduction to ghost imaging: quantum and classical
Ghost imaging has been a subject of interest to the quantum optics community for the past 20 years. Initially seen as manifestation of quantum spookiness, it is now recognized as being implementable in both single- and many-photon number regimes. Beyond its scientific curiosity, it is now feeding novel imaging modalities potentially offering performance attributes that traditional approaches cannot match
Vortex knots in light
Optical vortices generically arise when optical beams are combined. Recently, we reported how several laser beams containing optical vortices could be combined to form optical vortex loops, links and knots embedded in a light beam (Leach et al 2004 Nature 432 165). Here, we describe in detail the experiments in which vortex loops form these structures. The experimental construction follows a theoretical model originally proposed by Berry and Dennis, and the beams are synthesized using a programmable spatial light modulator and imaged using a CCD camera
Optical orbital angular momentum
We present a brief introduction to the orbital angular momentum of light, the subject of our theme issue and, in particular, to the developments in the 13 years following the founding paper by Allen et al. (Allen et al. 1992 Phys. Rev. A 45, 8185 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.45.8185)). The papers by our invited authors serve to bring the field up to date and suggest where developments may take us next
Comparing the information capacity of entangled Laguerre-Gaussian and Hermite-Gaussian modal sets in a finite-aperture system
Using a spontaneous parametric down-conversion process to create entangled spatial states, we compare the information capacity associated with measurements in the Hermite–Gaussian and Laguerre–Gaussian modal basis in an optical system of finite aperture. We show that the cross-talk imposed by the aperture restriction degrades the information capacity. However, the Laguerre–Gaussian mode measurements show greater resilience to cross talk than the Hermite–Gaussian, suggesting that the Laguerre–Gaussian modal set may still offer real-world advantages over other modal sets
Characterization of high-dimensional entangled systems via mutually unbiased measurements
Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) play a key role in many protocols in quantum
science, such as quantum key distribution. However, defining MUBs for arbitrary
high-dimensional systems is theoretically difficult, and measurements in such
bases can be hard to implement. We show experimentally that efficient quantum
state reconstruction of a high-dimensional multi-partite quantum system can be
performed by considering only the MUBs of the individual parts. The state
spaces of the individual subsystems are always smaller than the state space of
the composite system. Thus, the benefit of this method is that MUBs need to be
defined for the small Hilbert spaces of the subsystems rather than for the
large space of the overall system. This becomes especially relevant where the
definition or measurement of MUBs for the overall system is challenging. We
illustrate this approach by implementing measurements for a high-dimensional
system consisting of two photons entangled in the orbital angular momentum
(OAM) degree of freedom, and we reconstruct the state of this system for
dimensions of the individual photons from d=2 to 5.Comment: 8 page
The effect of external forces on discrete motion within holographic optical tweezers
Holographic optical tweezers is a widely used technique to manipulate the individual positions of optically trapped micron-sized particles in a sample. The trap positions are changed by updating the holographic image displayed on a spatial light modulator. The updating process takes a finite time, resulting in a temporary decrease of the intensity, and thus the stiffness, of the optical trap. We have investigated this change in trap stiffness during the updating process by studying the motion of an optically trapped particle in a fluid flow. We found a highly nonlinear behavior of the change in trap stiffness vs. changes in step size. For step sizes up to approximately 300 nm the trap stiffness is decreasing. Above 300 nm the change in trap stiffness remains constant for all step sizes up to one particle radius. This information is crucial for optical force measurements using holographic optical tweezers
Favorite Psalms of the Biola Institute Hour Listeners: Notes for December, 1956
Revival Psalm - Ps 85
Census Psalm - Ps 87
Midnight Psalm - Ps 88
Psalm of God\u27s faithfulness - Ps 89
Psalm of the secret place - Ps 91
Psalm of the palm tress Christian - Ps 92https://digitalcommons.biola.edu/biola-radio-pubs/1152/thumbnail.jp
Poetry matters: Radical politics in postmodern American poetry
Directly or indirectly, poetry produced in the postmodern era is implicated in the politics of the time. Postmodern American poetry, then, is not reducible to a single poetic mode or to a specific set of stylistic features. In other words, a more comprehensive understanding of postmodern American poetry can be made by employing a flexible version of Raymond Williams’ notion of uneven development, a theory that insists on the synchronic existence of dominant, residual, and emergent cultural elements. As the stylistically and politically diverse work of the six poets—Susan Howe, Robert Grenier, Gary Snyder, A.R. Ammons, Sherman Alexie, and Kenneth Goldsmith—examined in this dissertation illustrates, postmodernism is a period in which multiple modes or versions of postmodern poetry exist and flourish
- …