Nonparaxial propagation of abruptly autofocusing circular Pearcey Gaussian beams

Nonparaxial propagation and the radiation forces of the chirped circular Airy derivative beams

In this paper, we investigate the nonparaxial propagation dynamics of the chirped circular Airy derivative beams (CCADBs) based on vector angular spectrum method. In the case of nonparaxial propagation, the CCADBs still maintains excellent autofocusing performances. Derivative order and chirp factor are two important physical quantities of the CCADBs to regulate the nonparaxial propagation characteristics, such as focal length, focal depth and K-value. In the nonparaxial propagation model, the radiation force on a Rayleigh microsphere induced the CCADBs are also analyzed and discussed in detail. The results demonstrate that not all derivative order CCADBs can achieve stable microsphere trapping effect. The derivative order and chirp factor of the beam can be used to coarse and fine tune the capture effect of Rayleigh microsphere, respectively. This work will contribute to the more precise and flexible use of circular Airy derivative beams in optical manipulation, biomedical treatment and so on.

Mirror and Circular Symmetry of Autofocusing Beams

This article demonstrates the crucial importance of the symmetrization method for the formation of autofocusing beams. It is possible to impart autofocusing properties to rather arbitrary distributions, for example, truncated and inverted classical modes (such as Hermite–Gaussian, Laguerre–Gaussian, and Bessel modes) or shift the fundamental Gaussian beam by inserting mirror or circular symmetry. The most convenient for controlling autofocusing characteristics is the truncated sinus function with a power-law argument dependence. In this case, superlinear chirp beams (with power q > 2) exhibit sudden and more abrupt autofocusing than sublinear chirp beams (with power 1 < q < 2). Comparison of the different beams’ propagation is performed using fractional Fourier transform, which allows obtaining the field distribution in any paraxial region (both in the Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction regions). The obtained results expand the capabilities of structured beams in various applications in optics and photonics.

Dual-focusing behavior of a one-dimensional quadratically chirped Pearcey-Gaussian beam

In this paper, we provide analytical solutions describing the dynamic behavior of the Pearcey-Gaussian beams propagating in free space. Based on the analytical solutions, explicit expressions governing the focusing distances of the Pearcey-Gaussian beams are found and verified by numerical simulations. For the linearly chirped Pearcey-Gaussian beam, it exhibits a uni-focusing behavior during propagation. Particularly, the focusing distance is independent on the linear chirp parameter and remains z_f = 2 unchanged. Of particular interest is that the quadratically chirped Pearcey-Gaussian beam focuses twice when the quadratic chirp parameter β < 0. The first and the second focusing distances are determined by z_f1 = 2/(1 - 4β) and z_f2 = -1/(2β), respectively. Furthermore, we numerically investigate the peak powers at the different focusing positions and find that as β increases, the peak powers at z_f1 and z_f2 linearly decrease. It is expected that the characteristics can be used for manipulating the focusing distances and the peak powers to generate an optical beam with high peak power by adjusting the chirp parameter β.

Generation of Complex Transverse Energy Flow Distributions with Autofocusing Optical Vortex Beams

Optical vortex (OV) beams are widely used for the generation of light fields with transverse energy flow inducing orbital motion of the nano- and microparticles in the transverse plane. Here, we present some new modifications of OV beams with autofocusing properties for shaping complex transverse energy flow distributions varying in space. The angular component of the complex amplitude of these beams is defined by the superpositions of OV beams with different topological charges. The proposed approach provides a convenient method to control the three-dimensional structure of the generated autofocusing OV beams. The control of the transverse distribution of an autofocusing beam provides a wide variety of generated fields with both rotating and periodic properties, which can be used in the field of laser manipulation and laser material processing. Thus, the obtained numerical results predict different types of motion of the trapped particles for the designed OV autofocusing beams. The experimental results agree with modeling results and demonstrate the principal possibility to shape such laser beams using spatial light modulators.

Abruptly autofocusing chirped ring Pearcey Gaussian vortex beams with caustics state in the nonlinear medium

We simulate the propagation of the abruptly autofocusing chirped ring Pearcey Gaussian vortex (CRPGV) beams with caustics by modulating the phase of a circularly symmetric optical wavefront appropriately. The propagation characteristics of the CRPGV beams are explored in the Kerr medium. Different caustic surfaces of revolution which can be used as optical bottles are formed during the propagation. We also introduce the influence of the initial input power, the chirp factor and the stochastic type perturbations for the CRPGV beams during the propagation. Furthermore, the dynamics of the optical bottle and the breathers-like structures are explored in detail.

Effects of the modulated vortex and second-order chirp on the propagation dynamics of ring Pearcey Gaussian beams

The evolution of the chirped ring Pearcey Gaussian vortex (CRPGV) beams in free space is numerically investigated. The optical bottle beam and two-consecutive optical bottle beam can be directly generated from a ring Pearcey Gaussian beam with central vortices and the second-order chirp in free space. In particular, the focusing intensity will decrease when the vortices' locations are far away from the center of the beam or the topological charges are smaller. Our results show that the beam shapes, the normalized focusing intensity, and the focal length of the CRPGV beams can be controlled by choosing different beam parameters.

Dynamics of breathers-like circular Pearcey Gaussian waves in a Kerr medium

We introduce the propagation properties of the circular Pearcey Gaussian (CPG) waves in Kerr medium for the first time. The breathers-like structure and breathers-like groups structure (filamentions) of CPG waves will form due to the interaction between the linear waves and the nonlinear medium. The focusing characteristics in Kerr medium can be adjusted by the deviation factor and the initial input power of the CPG waves. By choosing appropriate input power, the imaginary part of the CPG waves can split into some wavelets during the propagation. It is worth noting that the distinctive stepwise focusing of the imaginary part of the CPG waves which can be applied to wave modulation. Furthermore, the numerical experiment results show good agreement with the numerical simulation results.

Propagation properties of autofocusing off-axis hollow vortex Gaussian beams in free space

By solving the (2 + 1) dimensional Schrödinger equation in free space, we find that the autofocusing off-axis hollow vortex Gaussian beams (HVGBs) are analytically derived for the first time. The off-axis HVGBs can be adjusted by changing the off-axis coordinate (x0,y0) and topological charge n₂. In particular, by increasing the off-axis coordinate (x0,y0), the self-focusing intensity can be increased. Besides, the self-focusing property can be more obvious. Furthermore, by increasing the hollow order n₁, we can deepen the depth of focus, make the focus position further away, and increase the self-focusing intensity too. We also discuss other propagation properties that are used to enrich the autofocusing off-axis HVGBs, such as Poynting vector, angular momentum, gradient force, and maximum scattering force during propagation.