Einstein beams carrying orbital angular momentum

Valeria Rodríguez-Fajardo; Thao P. Nguyen; Kiyan S. Hocek; Jacob M Freedman; Enrique J. Galvez

doi:10.1117/12.2651269

15 March 2023 Einstein beams carrying orbital angular momentum

Valeria Rodríguez-Fajardo, Thao P. Nguyen, Kiyan S. Hocek, Jacob M Freedman, Enrique J. Galvez

Proceedings Volume 12436, Complex Light and Optical Forces XVII; 124360C (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2651269
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2023, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Einstein beams are coherent optical beams generated by the conditions of gravitational lensing. In the ray picture, Einstein beams are formed by the intersection of light rays deflected by a lensing mass, similar to non-diffracting Bessel beams, but with the difference that adjacent rays diverge slightly. When accounting for the wave properties of light, they form beam-like diffraction patterns that preserve their shape but expand as the light propagates. The addition of a topological charge to the light, leads to more complex patterns carrying orbital angular momentum. For symmetric lensing conditions, Einstein beams carry modes described by confluent hypergeometric functions, which can be approximated by Bessel functions. A theoretical analysis of this is presented here. In astrophysical observations, many of these features can only be inferred because conditions of coherence and alignment make them difficult to observe. Studies of Einstein beams in the laboratory can be used to inform astrophysical observations and discover new non-astrophysical laboratory applications.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Valeria Rodríguez-Fajardo, Thao P. Nguyen, Kiyan S. Hocek, Jacob M Freedman, and Enrique J. Galvez "Einstein beams carrying orbital angular momentum", Proc. SPIE 12436, Complex Light and Optical Forces XVII, 124360C (15 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2651269

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