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A quantum wave function with localization on classical periodic orbits in a mesoscopic elliptic billiard has been achieved by appropriately superposing nearly degenerate eigenstates expressed as products of Mathieu functions. We analyze and discuss the rotational and librational regimes of motion in the elliptic billiard. Simplified line equations corresponding to the classical trajectories can be extracted from the quantum state as an integral equation involving angular Mathieu functions. The phase factors appearing in the integrals are connected to the classical initial positions and velocity components. We analyze the probability current density, phase maps, and vortex distributions of the periodic orbit quantum states for both rotational and librational motions; furthermore, they may represent traveling and standing trajectories inside the elliptic billiard.

We present analytical and numerical solutions of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation for the scattered wave functions generated by confocal parabolic billiards and parabolic segments with various δ-type potential-strength functions. The analytical expressions are expressed as summations of products of parabolic cylinder functions D_{m}. We numerically investigate the resonances and tunneling in the confocal parabolic billiards by employing an accurate boundary wall method that provides a complete inside-outside picture. The criterion for discretizing the parabolic sides of the billiard is explained in detail. We discuss the phenomenon of transparency at certain eigenenergies.

We characterize the streamline patterns of the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes of the vector-modified Bessel-Gauss (BG) beam, which is the Fourier-transformed version of the ordinary BG beam. We derive analytical expressions to approximate the streamline patterns produced by the superposition of TM and TE modes. An analysis of the effect on the streamlines of the vector BG beams produced by some polarization devices, e.g., linear retarders and spiral polarizers, is presented. Additionally, we study the geometrical phase induced by linear retarders into the TM mode of the field. This work contributes to the description and understanding of the vector structure of the focal field of Bessel-Gauss beams.

The classical dynamics of the isotropic two-dimensional harmonic oscillator confined by an elliptic hard wall is discussed. The interplay between the harmonic potential with circular symmetry and the boundary with elliptical symmetry does not spoil the separability in elliptic coordinates; however, it generates nontrivial energy and momentum dependencies in the billiard. We analyze the equimomentum surfaces in the parameter space and classify the kinds of motion the particle can have in the billiard. The winding numbers and periods of the rotational and librational trajectories are analytically calculated and numerically verified. A remarkable finding is the possibility of having degenerate rotational trajectories with the same energy but different second constant of motion and different caustics and periods. The conditions to get these degenerate trajectories are analyzed. Similarly, we show that obtaining two different rotational trajectories with the same period and second constant of motion but different energy is possible.

Given an arbitrary input wavefront, we derive the analytical refractive surface that refracts the wavefront into a single image point. The derivation of the surface is fully analytical without paraxial or numerical approximations. We evaluate the performance of the surface with several cases, and the results were as expected.

We compare two analytical methods for designing stigmatic lenses that are based on very different paradigms published recently [Appl. Opt.57, 9341 (2018)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.57.009341; J. Opt. Soc. Am. A37, 1155 (2020)JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.392795]. In the process, we derive a third hybrid approach, which is the result of combining the two original methods. Given the same initial conditions, an accurate numerical analysis shows that the three methods yield the same results. This is clear evidence that the problem of designing a stigmatic lens for a known boundary condition has a unique solution independent of the formalism used.

The concept of field of values (FoV), also known as the numerical range, is applied to the 2 × 2 Jones matrices used in polarization optics. We discover the relevant interplay between the geometric properties of the FoV, the algebraic properties of the Jones matrices and the representation of polarization states on the Poincaré sphere. The properties of the FoV reveal hidden symmetries in the relationships between the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the Jones matrices. We determine the main mathematical properties of the FoV, discuss the special cases that are relevant to polarization optics, and describe its application to calculate the Pancharatnam-Berry phase introduced by an optical system to the input state., Competing Interests: I declare I have no competing interest., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

We determine the interval of the inhomogeneity parameter of a Jones matrix to get physically realizable optical systems satisfying the passivity condition. It is found that the inhomogeneity parameter depends on the inner product of the eigenvectors of the Jones matrix, but its maximum value depends exclusively on its eigenvalues.

We introduce a very efficient noniterative algorithm to calculate the signed area of a spherical polygon with arbitrary shape on the Poincaré sphere. The method is based on the concept of the geometric Berry phase. It can handle diverse scenarios like convex and concave angles, multiply connected domains, overlapped vertices, sides and areas, self-intersecting polygons, holes, islands, cogeodesic vertices, random polygons, and vertices connected with long segments of great circles. A set of MATLAB routines of the algorithm is included. The main benefits of the algorithm are the ability to handle all manner of degenerate shapes, the shortness of the program code, and the running time.

The comment made by Valencia-Estrada and García-Márquez [Appl. Opt.59, 3422 (2020)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.379238] to our paper [Appl. Opt.58, 1010 (2019)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.58.001010] consists of a trivial generalization of our formulation.

We determine the optical phase $ \psi $ψ (dynamic and geometric) introduced by a system described by an inhomogeneous Jones matrix. We show that there are two possible scenarios: (a) $ \psi $ψ has a finite range of $ \psi \in [{\psi _{\min }},{\psi _{\max }}] $ψ∈[ψ min ,ψ max ]. We calculate both limits and their corresponding polarization states analytically. (b) $ \psi $ψ spans the full range of $ \psi \in ( - \pi ,\pi ] $ψ∈(-π,π]. This scenario leads to the existence of two input polarization states whose output states are orthogonal. We call these states ortho-transmission states (OTSs) and find them analytically. We study the inverse problem of designing an optical system with OTSs given by the user.

We derive the analytic formula of the output surface of a spherochromatic lens. The analytic solution ensures that all the rays for a wide range of wavelengths fall inside the Airy disk. So, its amount of spherical aberration is small enough to consider the lens as diffracted limited. We test the singlet lens using ray-tracing methods and find satisfactory results, including spot diagram analysis for three different Abbe wavelengths.

We present a generalization of the known spirally polarized beams (SPBs) which we will call generalized spirally polarized beams (GSPBs). We characterize in detail both theoretically and experimentally the streamline morphologies of the GSPBs and their transformation by arbitrary polarization optical systems described by complex Jones matrices. We find that the description of the passage of GSPBs through a polarization system is equivalent to the stability theory of autonomous systems of ordinary differential equations. While the streamlines of the GSPB exhibit a spiral geometry, the streamlines of the output field may exhibit spirals, saddles, nodes, ellipses, and stars as well. Using a novel experimental technique based on a Sagnac interferometer, we have been able to generate in the laboratory each one of the different cases of GSPBs and record their corresponding characteristic streamline morphologies.

We introduce a novel and simple modulation technique to tailor optical beams with a customized amount of orbital angular momentum (OAM). The technique is based on the modulation of the angular spectrum of a seed beam, which allows us to specify in an independent manner the value of OAM and the shape of the resulting beam transverse intensity. We experimentally demonstrate our method by arbitrarily shaping the radial and angular intensity distributions of Bessel and Laguerre-Gauss beams, while their OAM value remains constant. Our experimental results agree with the numerical and theoretical predictions.

We introduce a general closed-form analytic formula to design special lenses that generate spherical aberration-free extended images specified previously by the user. The formula considers arbitrary and non-conventional patterns. The formalism is tested with well-established ray tracing techniques.

In this paper, an analytical closed-form formula for the design of freeform lenses free of spherical aberration and astigmatism is presented. Given the equation of the freeform input surface, the formula gives the equation of the second surface to correct the spherical aberration. The derivation is based on the formal application of the variational Fermat principle under the standard geometrical optics approximation.

We introduce an effective optical system to produce optical beams with arbitrary, inhomogeneous polarization states. Using our system, we are capable of generating vector beams with discretionarily chosen transverse complex fields in a straightforward way. We generate several different instances of well-known vector beams and the less common spirally polarized vector beams, as well as a full Poincaré beam. We visually show the continual transition between azimuthally and radially polarized beams via a collection of spirally polarized beams. We experimentally determine the polarization states of the generated beams and quantitatively assess the performance of our system. We find that the measured polarization distributions accurately coincide with the intended input polarization distributions.

We demonstrate an innovative technique based on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase that can be used to determine whether an optical system characterized by a Jones matrix is homogeneous or inhomogeneous, containing orthogonal or nonorthogonal eigenpolarizations, respectively. Homogeneous systems have a symmetric geometric phase morphology showing line dislocations and sets of polarization states with an equal geometric phase. In contrast, the morphology of inhomogeneous systems exhibits phase singularities, where the Pancharatnam-Berry phase is undetermined. The results show an alternative to extract polarization properties such as diattenuation and retardance, and can be used to study the transformation of space-variant polarized beams.

Creation operators of fractional order, to derive the general Cartesian beams and circular beams from the lowest-order Gaussian beam, are introduced and discussed. Finding the creation operator for these general cases is a way to find the creation operator of all the special cases of Cartesian and circular beams.

We introduce an analytical procedure to construct an optical beam with an arbitrary value of orbital-angular momentum (OAM) by keeping the flexibility of shaping its transverse intensity distribution without changing its OAM. We apply the general theory of fractional differential operators in Fourier domain to derive general expressions for the OAM content in the beam and find the relevant parameters that determine its OAM value and those that can be freely modified without affecting it.

The trapping and manipulation of microscopic particles embedded in the structure of nondiffracting parabolic beams is reported. The particles acquire orbital angular momentum and exhibit an open trajectory following the parabolic fringes of the beam. We observe an asymmetry in the terminal velocity of the particles caused by the counteracting gradient and scattering forces.

Based on angular spectrum engineering, we report the generation of optical lattices whose two-dimensional transverse nondiffracting pattern can be reduced to a quasi-one-dimensional intensity structure formed by either a single or multiple parallel channels. Remarkably, many features for each channel such as its maximum intensity, modulation, width, or separation among channels, can be controlled and modified in order to meet the requirements of particular applications. In particular, we demonstrate that these lattices can provide useful schemes for soliton routing and steering. We demonstrate the existence domain of ground-state solitons for the single quasi-one-dimensional lattice, and we show that these nondiffracting beams allow "push and pull" dynamics among the neighbor solitons propagated along the nondiffracting channels generated.

We show that the complex-amplitude cross-correlation function between two beams can be obtained by the global Stokes parameters. We apply this approach to determine the topological charge of a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam by performing power measurements only. Additionally, we study the connection of the cross-correlation function with the degree of polarization for nonuniformly polarized beams, and we obtain closed-form expressions of the cross correlation for LG vector modes and the generalized full Poincaré beams.

We study the scalar wave scattering off the spherical cavity resonator with two finite-length conical channels attached. We use the boundary wall method to explore the response of the system to changes in control parameters, such as the size of the structure and the angular width of the input and output channels, as well as their relative angular position. We found that the system is more sensitive to changes in the input channel, and a standing wave phase distribution occurs within the cavity for nontransmitting values of the incident wave number. We also saw that an optical vortex can travel unaffected through the system with aligned channels.

The transition of the vortex structure of fractional elegant Laguerre-Gaussian beams is discussed in detail as the angular mode index of the beam is continuously varied between integer values. Under this kind of variation, the vortices can be classified into five groups. Contrary to the behavior of the vortices of the nondiffracting Bessel beams of fractional order, the nodal lines of the vortices in the case of the fractional eLG beams exhibit intricate shapes.

Due to their unique ability to maintain an intensity distribution upon propagation, non-diffracting light fields are used extensively in various areas of science, including optical tweezers, nonlinear optics and quantum optics, in applications where complex transverse field distributions are required. However, the number and type of rigorously non-diffracting beams is severely limited because their symmetry is dictated by one of the coordinate system where the Helmholtz equation governing beam propagation is separable. Here, we demonstrate a powerful technique that allows the generation of a rich variety of quasi-non-diffracting optical beams featuring nearly arbitrary intensity distributions in the transverse plane. These can be readily engineered via modifications of the angular spectrum of the beam in order to meet the requirements of particular applications. Such beams are not rigorously non-diffracting but they maintain their shape over large distances, which may be tuned by varying the width of the angular spectrum. We report the generation of unique spiral patterns and patterns involving arbitrary combinations of truncated harmonic, Bessel, Mathieu, or parabolic beams occupying different spatial domains. Optical trapping experiments illustrate the opto-mechanical properties of such beams.

We present optical fields formed by superposing nondiffracting parabolic beams with distinct longitudinal wave-vector components, generating light profiles that display intensity fluxes following parabolic paths in the transverse plane. Their propagation dynamics vary depending on the physical mechanism originating interference, where the possibilities include constructive and destructive interference between traveling parabolic beams, interference between stationary parabolic modes, and combinations of these. The dark parabolic region exhibited by parabolic beams permits a straightforward superposition of intensity fluxes, allowing formation of a variety of profiles, which can exhibit circular, elliptic, and other symmetries.

The boundaryless beam propagation method uses a mapping function to transform the infinite real space into a finite-size computational domain [Opt. Lett.21, 4 (1996)]. This leads to a bounded field that avoids the artificial reflections produced by the computational window. However, the method suffers from frequency aliasing problems, limiting the physical region to be sampled. We propose an adaptive boundaryless method that concentrates the higher density of sampling points in the region of interest. The method is implemented in Cartesian and cylindrical coordinate systems. It keeps the same advantages of the original method but increases accuracy and is not affected by frequency aliasing.

We demonstrate the generation of non-diffracting heralded single photons, i.e. which are characterized by a single-photon transverse intensity distribution which remains essentially unchanged over a significant propagation distance. For this purpose we have relied on the process of spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) for the generation of signal and idler photon pairs, where our SPDC crystal is pumped by a Bessel-Gauss (BG) beam. Our experiment shows that the well-understood non-diffracting behavior of a BG beam may be directly mapped to the signal-mode, single photons heralded by the detection of a single idler photon. In our experiment, the heralded single photon is thus arranged to be non-diffracting without the need for projecting its single-photon transverse amplitude, post-generation, in any manner.

We introduce a technique to generate arbitrary nondiffracting beams. Using a genetic algorithm that uses a Gaussian weight function merged with spatial spectrum engineering techniques, we show that it is possible to obtain the angular spectrum representation of arbitrary light patterns, thus demonstrating their nondiffracting properties.

The study of open quantum billiards has gained popularity in the last decades, including different common and uncommon geometries such as the circular and stadium billiards. We present an extensive analysis of the elliptic quantum billiard with hyperbolic channels. We concentrate on the tunneling through an elliptic resonator-like structure. We analyze three different variations of the system: the first configuration has horizontal channels, then we study the system with vertical leads, and finally we displace both channels by the same angle to gain a more general perspective. We observed a very unusual phase distribution in the resonator cavity when there is no tunneling through the system.

We present simple closed-form expressions for evaluating the overall and the Pancharatnam-Berry phase introduced by an optical system with either orthogonal or nonorthogonal eigenpolarizations. The formulas provide a meaningful connection with the Pancharatnam-Berry phase associated with nonclosed paths on the Poincaré sphere.

A detailed analysis of the plane-wave diffraction by a finite-radius circular spiral phase plate (SPP) with integer and fractional topological charge and with variable transmission coefficients inside and outside of the plate edge is presented. We characterize the effect of varying the transmission coefficients and the parameters of the SPP on the propagated field. The vortex structure for integer and fractional phase step of the SPPs with and without phase apodization at the plate edge is also analyzed. The consideration of the interference between the light crossing the SPP and the light that undergoes no phase alteration at the aperture plane reveals new and interesting phenomena associated to this classical problem.

A very general beam solution of the paraxial wave equation in elliptic cylindrical coordinates is presented. We call such a field an elliptic beam (EB). The complex amplitude of the EB is described by either the generalized Ince functions or the Whittaker-Hill functions and is characterized by four parameters that are complex in the most general situation. The propagation through complex ABCD optical systems and the conditions for square integrability are studied in detail. Special cases of the EB are the standard, elegant, and generalized Ince-Gauss beams, Mathieu-Gauss beams, among others.

We introduce the basic properties of solitons in elliptical photonic lattices induced optically by a superposition of Mathieu beams. Owing to the modulation of the intensity along its elliptical rings, these lattices allow novel dynamics of propagation, being possible, for the first time to our knowledge, to propagate solitons in an elliptic motion with varying rotation rate.

We report what is to our best knowledge the first observation of Mathieu-Gauss modes directly generated in an axicon-based stable resonator. By slightly breaking the symmetry of the cavity we were able to generate single lowest and high-order Mathieu-Gauss modes of high quality. The observed transverse modes have an inherent elliptic structure and exhibit remarkable agreement with theoretical predictions.

We present the use of optical fibers to form a counter-propagating optical trap as a means of manipulating both solid and liquid aerosols. We explore the use of single and multimode fibers to achieve trapping of various particles in air, present the trapping properties of the different fiber types and compare the observed trends to those predicted by theory. Using fibers, we are able to hold suspended particles for extended periods of time and to precisely manipulate them over distances of several hundred microns. We discuss the difficulties and advantages of each fiber configuration and conclude with a demonstration that fiber based trapping offers a good candidate for studying optical binding in air.

The vortex emergence process as an integer order Bessel field progresses continuously onto the contiguous higher order Bessel field is studied in detail. We assess the progressive migration of phase singularities and explain the predicted increase in fractional orbital angular momentum content of the beam in terms of this gradual process.

The three dimensional distribution of focused vector Mathieu-Gauss beams (vMG) is studied in the vicinity of the geometrical focus of an unapertured thin lens. We adopt two different intensity based criteria for defining the actual focus. Our analysis confirms the existence of a focal shift towards the lens for this type of beams. The dependence of the focal shift on the different parameters of the beams is discussed in detail. Beams with different states of polarization are studied as well, and it is shown that the focal shift is independent of the polarization.

A very general beam solution of the paraxial wave equation in circular cylindrical coordinates is presented. We call such a field a circular beam (CiB). The complex amplitude of the CiB is described by either the Whittaker functions or the confluent hypergeometric functions and is characterized by three parameters that are complex in the most general situation. The propagation through complex ABCD optical systems and the conditions for square integrability are studied in detail. Special cases of the CiB are the standard, elegant, and generalized Laguerre-Gauss beams; Bessel-Gauss beams; hypergeometric beams; hypergeometric-Gaussian beams; fractional-order elegant Laguerre-Gauss beams; quadratic Bessel-Gauss beams; and optical vortex beams.

We introduce a new class of elliptically modulated self-trapped singular beams in isotropic nonlinear media where nonlocality plays a crucial role in their existence. The analytical expressions in the highly nonlocal nonlinear limit of these elliptically shaped self-trapped beams, or ellipticons, is obtained and their existence in more general nonlocal nonlinear media is demonstrated. We show that the ellipticons represent a generalization of several known self-trapped beams, for example vortex solitons, azimuthons, and the Hermite and Laguerre solitons clusters. For the limit of the highly nonlocal nonlinear medium, the ellipticons are described in close form in terms of the InceGauss functions.

The Rytov theory for the propagation of Helmholtz-Gauss (HzG) beams in turbulent atmosphere is presented. We derive expressions for the first and second-order normalized Born approximations, the second-order moments, and the transverse intensity pattern of the HzG beams at any arbitrary propagation distance. The general formulation is applied to study the propagation of several special cases of the HzG beams, in particular, the Bessel-Gauss and Mathieu-Gauss beams and their pure nondiffracting counterparts, the Bessel and Mathieu beams. For numerical purposes, we assume the standard Kolmogorov distribution to model the power spectrum of the atmospheric fluctuations.

We introduce the generalized Airy-Gauss (AiG) beams and analyze their propagation through optical systems described by ABCD matrices with complex elements in general. The transverse mathematical structure of the AiG beams is form-invariant under paraxial transformations. The conditions for square integrability of the beams are studied in detail. The model of the AiG beam describes in a more realistic way the propagation of the Airy wave packets because AiG beams carry finite power, retain the nondiffracting propagation properties within a finite propagation distance, and can be realized experimentally to a very good approximation.

A new and very general beam solution of the paraxial wave equation in Cartesian coordinates is presented. We call such a field a Cartesian beam. The complex amplitude of the Cartesian beams is described by either the parabolic cylinder functions or the confluent hypergeometric functions, and the beams are characterized by three parameters that are complex in the most general situation. The propagation through complex ABCD optical systems and the conditions for square integration are studied in detail. Applying the general expression of the Cartesian beams, we also derive two new and meaningful beam structures that, to our knowledge, have not yet been reported in the literature. Special cases of the Cartesian beams are the standard, elegant, and generalized Hermite-Gauss beams, the cosine-Gauss beams, the Lorentz beams, and the fractional order beams.

Using suitable polychromatic superpositions of helical Mathieu and parabolic nondiffracting beams, we study for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the higher-order helical Mathieu X waves and the traveling and stationary parabolic X waves. The mathematical and physical properties of these new kinds of localized pulses are discussed.

We apply the tools of the fractional calculus to introduce new fractional-order beam solutions to the paraxial wave equation that can be regarded as intermediate solutions between the known integral-order solutions. We restrict our attention to the fractionalization of the elegant and standard Hermite-Gaussian beams.

Degenerate four-wave mixing is demonstrated using an artificial Kerr medium and is evidenced by directly observing the phase conjugation of a vortex signal beam. The nonlinear susceptibility is produced by a refractive index grating created in a suspension of dielectric microscopic particles optically confined in the intensity grating distribution of two interfering laser beams.

We apply the tools of fractional calculus to introduce new fractional-order solutions of the paraxial wave equation that smoothly connect the elegant Laguerre-Gaussian beams of integral-order. The solutions are characterized in general by two fractional indices and are obtained by fractionalizing the creation operators used to create elegant Laguerre-Gauss beams from the fundamental Gaussian beam. The physical and mathematical properties of the circular fractional beams are discussed in detail. The orbital angular momentum carried by the fractional beam is a continuous function of the angular mode index and it is not restricted to take only discrete values.

Numerical calculations recently published [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A23, 912 (2006)] on the eigenmodes in axicon-based Bessel-Gauss resonators revealed significant inconsistencies regarding the modal patterns, the mode losses, the mode ordering by loss, and the intracavity field distributions. We show that the results are inaccurate mainly because (a) it was overlooked in the derivation of the matrix equations that light crosses twice through the axicon in a complete round-trip and (b) the numerical method used to evaluate the diffraction integral equations cannot resolve the eigenvalues and eigenfields for the given resonator configuration.

We comment on a recent paper by D. Ling et al. [Appl. Opt. 45, 4102 (2006)]. In that paper, the authors adopted the entire matrix formalism that we established in a previous work [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 22, 1909 (2005)] for finding the eigenmodes of an unstable Bessel resonator. Nevertheless, the results are inaccurate mainly because (a) it was overlooked that light crosses through the axicon twice in a complete round trip and (b) the numerical method used to evaluate the diffraction integral equations cannot resolve the eigenvalues and eigenfields for the given resonator configuration.