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Journal ArticleDOI

Bessel beams: Diffraction in a new light

01 Jan 2005-Contemporary Physics (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 46, Iss: 1, pp 15-28
TL;DR: In this article, the theoretical foundation of the Bessel beam is described and various experiments that make use of Bessel beams are discussed: these cover a wide range of fields including non-linear optics, where the intense central core of the bessel beam has attracted interest; short pulse non-diffracting fields; atom optics, and optical manipulation where the reconstruction properties of the beam enable new effects to be observed that cannot be seen with Gaussian beams.
Abstract: Diffraction is a cornerstone of optical physics and has implications for the design of all optical systems. The paper discusses the so-called 'non-diffracting' light field, commonly known as the Bessel beam. Approximations to such beams can be experimentally realized using a range of different means. The theoretical foundation of these beams is described and then various experiments that make use of Bessel beams are discussed: these cover a wide range of fields including non-linear optics, where the intense central core of the Bessel beam has attracted interest; short pulse non-diffracting fields; atom optics, where the narrow non-diffracting features of the Bessel beam are able to act as atomic guides and atomic confinement devices and optical manipulation, where the reconstruction properties of the beam enable new effects to be observed that cannot be seen with Gaussian beams. The intensity profile of the Bessel beam may offer routes to investigating statistical physics as well as new techniques for the...
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the main aspects of ultrashort laser pulse filamentation in various transparent media such as air (gases), transparent solids and liquids are introduced and discussed.

2,282 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Huygens' principle is applied to develop designer surfaces that provide extreme control of electromagnetic wave fronts across electrically thin layers to find a wide range of applications over the entire electromagnetic spectrum including single-surface lenses, polarization controlling devices, stealth technologies, and perfect absorbers.
Abstract: Huygens' principle is a well-known concept in electromagnetics that dates back to 1690. Here, it is applied to develop designer surfaces that provide extreme control of electromagnetic wave fronts across electrically thin layers. These reflectionless surfaces, referred to as metamaterial Huygens' surfaces, provide new beam shaping, steering, and focusing capabilities. The metamaterial Huygens' surfaces are realized with two-dimensional arrays of polarizable particles that provide both electric and magnetic polarization currents to generate prescribed wave fronts. A straightforward design methodology is demonstrated and applied to develop a beam-refracting surface and a Gaussian-to-Bessel beam transformer. Metamaterial Huygens' surfaces could find a wide range of applications over the entire electromagnetic spectrum including single-surface lenses, polarization controlling devices, stealth technologies, and perfect absorbers.

1,418 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work investigates both theoretically and experimentally the self-healing properties of accelerating Airy beams and shows that this class of waves tends to reform during propagation in spite of the severity of the imposed perturbations.
Abstract: We investigate both theoretically and experimentally the self-healing properties of accelerating Airy beams. We show that this class of waves tends to reform during propagation in spite of the severity of the imposed perturbations. In all occasions the reconstruction of these beams is interpreted through their internal transverse power flow. The robustness of these optical beams in scattering and turbulent environments is also studied experimentally. Our observations are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations.

800 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the Poynting vector has features that are not immediately apparent from the intensity alone, nor from global properties of a beam, but can be easily recognized from the analysis of optical vortices and orbital angular momentum.
Abstract: Publisher Summary The widespread availability of spatially and temporally coherent laser sources makes the production of optical vortices inevitable in any experiment involving scattered laser light. The realization of quantized vortices is not specific to optics: these objects occur in all spatial scalar fields. Although optical vortices are often referred to as “points of phase singularity within a cross section of the field,” physical optical fields extend over three dimensions, and the phase singularities are actually lines of perfect destructive interference that are embedded in the volume filled by the light. Optical vortices are examples of the singularity lines within all complicated scalar fields. By comparison, electromagnetic vector fields do not generally have nodes in all components simultaneously. However, vector fields possess singularities associated with the parameterization of elliptical and partial polarization rather than phase. Polarization singularities are present in many situations, ranging from sunlight to the light transmitted by birefringent materials. Their descriptors are more complicated than their scalar counterpart in that they have both handedness and additional categorization. The study of optical vortices and orbital angular momentum has led to a recognition that the energy flow—characterized by the Poynting vector—has features not immediately apparent from the intensity alone, nor from global properties of a beam.

687 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Theoretical analysis suggests that there exists an optical attractive force capable of "pulling" microparticles towards a light source as mentioned in this paper, which is generated by using interference to optimize the scattering of light in the forwards direction.
Abstract: Theoretical analysis suggests that there exists an optical attractive force capable of “pulling” microparticles towards a light source. This backwards force is generated by using interference to optimize the scattering of light in the forwards direction.

559 citations

References
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Book
01 Jan 1984

5,597 citations


"Bessel beams: Diffraction in a new ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Such a particle undergoes Brownian motion within the trap [ 65 ] and can be thermally activated to escape from the trap region....

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Posted Content
19 Jun 2000
TL;DR: Scalar Bessel beams are derived both via the wave equation and via diffraction theory as mentioned in this paper, and the signal velocity of a modulated Bessel beam is less than the speed of light.
Abstract: Scalar Bessel beams are derived both via the wave equation and via diffraction theory While such beams have a group velocity that exceeds the speed of light, this is a manifestation of the "scissors paradox" of special relativty The signal velocity of a modulated Bessel beam is less than the speed of light Forms of Bessel beams that satisfy Maxwell's equations are also given

12 citations