The light in the form of a smoke ring behaves like a particle

In our daily lives we can frequently find a local wave structure that maintains its shape as it propagates – picture a smoke ring floating through the air. Similar stable structures have been studied in various research fields and can be found in magnets, nuclear systems, and particle physics. Unlike the smoke ring, it can be made resilient to turbulence. In mathematics and physics this is known as topological protection.

A typical example is the tornado-like nanotexture of a magnetic field in thin magnetic membranes, behaving like particles – that is, not changing their shape – called Skyrmions. Similar donut-shaped (or toroidal) patterns in three-dimensional space, depicting complex spatial distributions of different wave properties, are called leaps. realization of such structures with light waves Very elusive.

Recent studies of structured light have revealed strong spatial differences in polarization, phase, and amplitude, which enable understanding of—and open design opportunities for—topologically stable optical structures that behave like particles. Such photonic particles that control diverse topological properties may have great potential, for example, as next-generation information carriers for ultrahigh-capacity optical information transfer, as well as in quantum technologies.

As stated in advanced photonicscollaborating physicists from the UK and China recently demonstrated the generation of polarization modes with topologically designed properties in three dimensions, which, for the first time, can be controlled and propagated in free space.

As a result of this insight, many important developments and new perspectives have been presented. “We report a new and highly unusual ordered light family of 3D topological solitons, the photonic hops, in which topological textures and topological numbers can be tuned freely and independently, far exceeding previously described fixed lower-order topological structures,” says Yijie Shen of the University of Southampton UK, lead author of the paper.

“Our results demonstrate the immense beauty of light structures. We hope they will inspire further investigations towards the potential applications of topologically protected light configurations in optical communication, quantum technologies, light-matter interactions, super-resolution microscopy and metrology,” says Anatoly Zyats, professor at King’s College London. and project leader.

This work presents a theoretical background describing the emergence, experimental generation, and characterization of this hope family, revealing a rich structure of topologically protected polarizable materials. In contrast to previous observations of localized jumps in solid-state materials, this work shows that, counterintuitively, optical jumps can propagate in Empty space With topological protection for polarization distribution.

The robust topological structure of photonic hops shown on propagation is often sought in applications.

This newly developed model of photonic topological jumps can be easily extended to other topological configurations of higher order in other branches of physics. High-order lapses remain a major challenge to watch in other physics communities, from high energy physics to magnetic materials. The optical approach proposed in this work may provide a deeper understanding of this complex field than structures in other branches of physics.