Topological spin defects of light
Abstract
Topological defects are found in a variety of systems, and their existence is robust under perturbations due to their topological nature. Here we introduce a type of topological defect found in electromagnetic waves: topological spin defects. Such a defect is associated with a point where the electromagnetic spin density is zero, and generically has a nontrivial topological spin texture surrounding the defect point. Due to such spin texture, a topological spin defect possesses a quantized topological charge. We provide examples of isolated defect points, periodic or quasi-periodic defect lattices in electromagnetic fields. Such topological spin defect points may find applications in 3D imaging and nanoparticle manipulation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 14, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1364/optica.474612
Entities
People
- Charles C. Wojcik
- Haiwen Wang
- Shanhui Fan
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Simons Foundation
- Stanford University