Structured light is attracting significant attention for its diverse applications in both classical and quantum optics. The so-called vector vortex beams display peculiar properties in both contexts due to the non-trivial correlations between optical polarization and orbital angular momentum. Here we demonstrate a new, flexible experimental approach to the classification of vortex vector beams. We first describe a platform for generating arbitrary complex vector vortex beams inspired to photonic quantum walks. We then exploit recent machine learning methods -- namely convolutional neural networks and principal component analysis -- to recognize and classify specific polarization patterns. Our study demonstrates the significant advantages resulting from the use of machine learning-based protocols for the construction and characterization of high-dimensional resources for quantum protocols.
Recently interesting observations on electron vortex beams, which have angular momentum about the center of the vortex beams, have been made. We have shown that the basic features of the electron vortex beams in a uniform magnetic field are understandable by using the classical motions of electrons. We have constructed a classical vortex-like motion by the collective motion of individual electrons in their cyclotron motions with a constant canonical angular momentum in the symmetric gauge, which models electron vortex beams, in a uniform magnetic field. With this model the various properties o…
The present study experimentally examines how an electron vortex beam with orbital angular momentum (OAM) undergoes diffraction through a forked grating. The nth-order diffracted electron vortex beam after passing through a forked grating with a Burgers vector of 1 shows an OAM transfer of nh. Hence, the diffraction patterns become mirror asymmetric owing to the size difference between the electron beams. Such a forked grating, when used in combination with a pinhole located at the diffraction plane, could act as an analyzer to measure the OAM of input electrons.
By introducing concepts of beam shaping into quantum mechanics, we show how interference effects of the quantum wavefunction describing multiple electrons can exactly balance the repulsion among the electrons. With proper shaping of the fermionic wavefunction, we propose non-diffracting quantum wavepackets of multiple electrons that can also carry orbital angular momentum, in the form of multi-electron non-diffracting vortex beams. The wavefunction is designed to compensate for both the repulsion between electrons and for the diffraction-broadening. This wavefunction shaping facilitates the us…
We have studied the phase singularity of the relativistic vortex beams for the two sets of relativistic operators. One includes the new spin and orbital angular momentum (OAM) operators, which is derived from the parity-extended Poincaré group, and the other is composed of the (usual) Dirac spin and OAM operators. The first set predicts the same singular circulation as the nonrelativistic vortex beams. On the other hand, the second set anticipates that the singularity of the circulation is spin orientation-dependent and can be disappeared especially for relativistic paraxial electron beam with…
Physics of photons and electrons carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) is an exciting field of research in quantum optics and electron microscopy. Usually, one considers propagation of these vortex beams in a medium or external fields and their absorption or scattering on fixed targets. Here we consider instead a beam-beam collision. We show that elastic scattering of a Bessel vortex beam with a counterpropagating plane wave naturally leads to two vortex-entangled outgoing beams. The vortex entanglement implies that the two final particles are entangled not only in their orbital helicities b…
Optical beams with topological singularities have a Schmidt decomposition. Hence, they display features typically associated with bipartite quantum systems; in particular, these classical beams can exhibit entanglement. This classical entanglement can be quantified by a Bell inequality formulated in terms of Wigner functions. We experimentally demonstrate the violation of this inequality for Laguerre-Gauss (LG) beams and confirm that the violation increases with increasing orbital angular momentum. Our measurements yield negativity of the Wigner function at the origin for $\LG_{10}$ beams, whe…
We investigate the propagation of electron vortex beams in a magnetic field. It is pointed out that when electron vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum propagate in a magnetic field, the Berry curvature associated with the scalar electron moving in a cyclic path around the vortex line is modified from that in free space. This alters the spin-orbit interaction, which affects the propagation of nonparaxial beams. The electron vortex beams with tilted vortex lead to spin Hall effect in free space. In presence of a magnetic field in time space we have spin filtering such that either posit…
Electron vortex beams carry well-defined orbital angular momentum (OAM) about the propagation axis. Such beams are thus characterised by chirality features which make them potentially useful as probes of magnetic and other chiral materials. An analysis of the inelastic processes in which electron vortex beams interact with atoms and which involve OAM exchange is outlined, leading to the multipolar selection rules governing this chiral specific electron vortex beam spectroscopy. Our results show clearly that the selection rules are dependent on the dynamical state and location of the atoms invo…
When a vortex beam with the spiral phase structure passes through a dynamic angular double slits (ADS), the interference pattern changes alternatively between destructive and constructive at the angular bisector direction of the ADS due to their phase difference. Based on this property, we experimentally demonstrate a simple method, which can precisely and efficiently determine the topological charge of vortex beams. What is more, this scheme allows determining both the modulus and sign of the topological charge of vortex beams simultaneously.
Improving axial resolution is of paramount importance for three-dimensional optical imaging systems. Here, we investigate the ultimate precision in axial localization using vortex beams. For Laguerre-Gauss beams, this limit can be achieved with just an intensity scan. The same is not true for superpositions of Laguerre-Gauss beams, in particular for those with intensity profiles that rotate on defocusing. Microscopy methods based on rotating vortex beams may thus benefit from replacing traditional intensity sensors with advanced mode-sorting techniques.
We investigate topological aspects of sub-nm electron vortex beams upon elastic propagation through atomic scattering potentials. Two main aspects can be distinguished: (i) Significantly reduced delocalization compared to a similar non-vortex beam if the beam centers on an atomic column and (ii) site symmetry dependent splitting of higher-order vortex beams. Furthermore, the results provide insight into the complex vortex line fabric within the elastically scattered wave containing characteristic vortex loops predominantly attached to atomic columns and characteristic twists of vortex lines ar…
A mode converter for electron vortex beams is described. Numerical simulations, confirmed by experiment, show that the converter transforms a vortex beam with topological charge $m=\pm 1$ into beams closely resembling Hermite-Gaussian HG$_{10}$ and HG$_{01}$ modes. The converter can be used as a mode discriminator or filter for electron vortex beams. Combining the converter with a phase plate turns a plane wave into modes with topological charge $m=\pm 1$. This combination serves as a generator of electron vortex beams of high brilliance.
We propose a reconstruction of vortex beams based on the implementation of quadratic transformations in the orbital angular momentum. The information is encoded in a superposition of Bessel-like nondiffracting beams. The measurement of the angular probability distribution at different positions allows for the reconstruction of the Wigner function.
Vector vortex beams simultaneously carrying spin and orbital angular momentum of light promise additional degrees of freedom for modern optics and emerging resources for both classical and quantum information technologies. The inherently infinite dimensions can be exploited to enhance data capacity for sustaining the unprecedented growth in big data and internet traffic, and can be encoded to build quantum computing machines in high-dimensional Hilbert space. So far much progress has been made in the emission of vector vortex beams from a chip surface into free space, however, the generation o…
The Fraunhofer diffraction intensity distribution of Laguerre-Gaussian beam is studied in an angular-double-slit interferometer. We demonstrate that the spiral phase structure of vortex light can be clearly revealed in this interference geometry, and it gives us an efficient way to distinguish different order of Laguerre-Gaussian beams. This angular-double-slit interference gives us a better understanding to the nature of orbital angular momentum and the interpretation of vortex beams interference phenomenon.
We present a quantum optics approach for describing stimulated parametric down conversion in the two type-I crystal "sandwich" configuration, which allows for parametric interaction of vector vortex beams. We analyze the conditions for which phase conjugation of the seed vector beam occurs. We then use two strategies for defining generalized Stokes parameters to describe phase conjugation of vector vortex beams. These allow for geometrical representations, such as higher-order Poincaré spheres. Our results are useful for description and design of stimulated and spontaneous parametric down conv…
Given the multitude of applications of vector vortex beams there is a need for robust tools to measure them. Here we exploit the non-separability of such beams, akin to entanglement of quantum states, to apply tools traditionally associated with quantum measurements to these classical fields. We apply three measures of non-separability: a Bell inequality, a concurrence, and an entanglement entropy to define the "vectorness" of such beams. In addition to providing novel tools for the analysis of vector beams, we also introduce the concept of classical entanglement to explain why these tools are…
Recent theoretical and experimental developments in the field of electron vortex beam physics have raised questions on what exactly this novelty in the field of electron microscopy (and other fields, such as particle physics) really provides. An important part in the answer to those questions lies in scattering theory. The present investigation explores various aspects of inelastic quantum scattering theory for cylindrically symmetric beams with orbital angular momentum. The model system of Coulomb scattering on a hydrogen atom provides the setting to address various open questions: How is mom…
A general orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode selection principle is put forward involving the rotationally symmetric superposition of chiral states. This principle is not only capable of explaining the operation of spiral zone plate holograms and suggesting that naturally occurring rotationally symmetric patterns could be inadvertent sources of vortex beams, but more importantly, it enables the systematic and flexible generation of structured OAM waves in general. This is demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically in the context of electron vortex beams using rotationally symmetric bi…
A model for a new electron vortex beam production method is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The technique calls on the controlled manipulation of the degrees of freedom of the lens aberrations to achieve a helical phase front. These degrees of freedom are accessible by using the corrector lenses of a transmission electron microscope. The vortex beam is produced through a particular alignment of these lenses into a specifically designed astigmatic state and applying an annular aperture in the condensor plane. Experimental results are found to be in good agreement with simulations.
Vector vortex beams have played a fundamental role in the better understanding of coherence and polarization. They are described by spatially inhomogeneous polarization states, which present a rich optical mode structure that has attracted much attention for applications in optical communications, imaging, spectroscopy and metrology. However, this complex mode structure can be quite detrimental when propagation effects such as turbulence and birefringence perturb the beam. Optical phase conjugation has been proposed as a method to recover an optical beam from perturbations. Here we demonstrate…
Light endowed with orbital angular momentum, commonly termed optical vortex light, has an azimuthal phase indexed by the orbital quantum number $l$. In contrast to the two basis states of the optical spin angular momentum, the interest in the information content of optical vortex beams is centred on the assumption that $\lvert{l}\rangle{}$ forms a countably infinite set of basis states. The recent experimental observation that group velocity is inversely proportional to $l$ provides a theoretical basis for a practical measure of information transfer. This Letter sets an upper bound on that mea…
We demonstrate trapping and quantum state control of single Cesium atoms in a 532 nm wavelength bottle beam trap. The three dimensional trap is formed by crossing two unit charge vortex beams. Single atoms are loaded with 50% probability directly from a magneto-optical trap. We achieve a trapping lifetime of up to 6 s, and demonstrate fast Rabi oscillations with a coherence time of $T_2\sim 43 \pm 9\rm ms$.
We have proposed a unified framework towards the dynamics of optical and electron vortex beams from the perspective of geometric phase and the associated Hall effects. The unification is attributed to the notion that the spin degrees of freedom of a relativistic particle, either massive or massless, is associated with a vortex line. %The formulation in cylindrical coordinates leads to a local vortex structure related to orbital angular momentum(OAM). Based on cylindrical corodinate formulation, which leads to a local vortex structure related to orbital angular momentum (OAM), it can be shown t…
We propose a stereographical-visualization scheme for a polarization state by two-dimensional imaging of a weak value with a single setup. The key idea is to employ Laguerre-Gaussian modes or an optical vortex beam for a probe state in weak measurement. Our scheme has the advantage that we can extract information on the polarization state from the single image in which the zero-intensity point of the optical vortex beam corresponds to a stereographic projection point of the Poincare sphere. We experimentally perform single-setup weak measurement to validate the stereographical relationship bet…
When a phase singularity is suddenly imprinted on the axis of an ordinary Gaussian beam, an optical vortex appears and starts to grow radially, by effect of diffraction. This radial growth and the subsequent evolution of the optical vortex under focusing or imaging can be well described in general within the recently introduced theory of circular beams, which generalize the hypergeometric-Gaussian beams and which obey novel kinds of ABCD rules. Here, we investigate experimentally these vortex propagation phenomena and test the validity of circular-beam theory. Moreover, we analyze the differen…
It is known that the cross-correlation function (CCF) of a partially coherent vortex (PCV) beam shows a robust link with the radial and azimuthal mode indices. However, the previous proposals are difficult to measure the CCF in practical system, especially in the case of astronomical objects. In this letter, we demonstrate experimentally that the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect can be used to measure the mode indices of the original vortex beam and investigate the relationship between the spatial coherent width and the characterization of CCF of a PCV beam. The technique we exploit is quite eff…
We present a space-time generalization of the known spatial (monochromatic) wave vortex beams carrying intrinsic orbital angular momentum (OAM) along the propagation direction. Generic spatio-temporal vortex beams are polychromatic and can carry intrinsic OAM at an arbitrary angle to the mean momentum. Applying either (i) a transverse wave-vector shift or (ii) a Lorentz boost to a monochromatic Bessel beam, we construct a family of either (i) time-diffracting or (ii) non-diffracting spatio-temporal Bessel beams, which are exact solutions of the Klein-Gordon wave equations. The proposed spatio-…
We report on controlling the bi-photon orbital angular momentum (OAM) eigenmodes in the spontaneous parametric down conversion process by simply adjusting the asymmetry of the pump vortex beam. Adjusting the optic axis of the spiral phase plate (SPP) of phase winding corresponding to OAM mode, l, with respect to the beam propagation axis, we have transformed a Gaussian beam into an asymmetric vortex beam with OAM modes, l, l-1, l-2, 0 with different weightages. Pumping the nonlinear crystal with such asymmetric vortices and controlling their asymmetry we have tailored the spiral spectrum of th…
We have studied here the geometrodynamics of relativistic electron vortex beams from the perspective of the geometric phase associated with the scalar electron encircling the vortex line. It is pointed out that the electron vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum is a natural consequence of the skyrmion model of a fermion. This follows from the quantization procedure of a fermion in the framework of Nelson's stochastic mechanics when a direction vector (vortex line) is introduced to depict the spin degrees of freedom. In this formalism a fermion is depicted as a scalar particle encirclin…
Angular momentum plays a central role in a multitude of phenomena in quantum mechanics, recurring in every length scale from the microscopic interactions of light and matter to the macroscopic behavior of superfluids. Vortex beams, carrying intrinsic orbital angular momentum (OAM), are now regularly generated with elementary particles such as photons and electrons, and harnessed for numerous applications including microscopy and communication. Untapped possibilities remain hidden in vortices of non-elementary particles, as their composite structure can lead to coupling of OAM with internal deg…
Polarization of light beams is one of the most important physical phenomena. But up till now it was only described in the paraxial approximation in which it is considered to be a single degree of freedom that is characterized by the local Stokes parameters over the transverse plane. Based on such a description, vector vortex beams are considered to be entangled in polarization and spatial mode. Here we show that there is not any entanglement in a large class of representative vector vortex beams, including the well-known cylindrical-vector beams. This is achieved by developing an approach to e…
Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes represent an orthonormal basis set of solutions of the paraxial wave equation. LG are characterized by two integer parameters $n$ and $\ell$ that are related to the radial and azimuthal profile of the beam. The physical dimension of the mode is instead determined by the beam waist parameter $w_0$: only LG modes with the same $w_0$ satisfy the orthogonality relation. Here, we derive the scalar product between two LG modes with different beam waists and show how this result can be exploited to derive different expansions of a generic beam in terms of LG modes. In partic…
Vortex-carrying matter waves, such as chiral electron beams, are of significant interest in both applied and fundamental science. Continuous wave electron vortex beams are commonly prepared via passive phase masks imprinting a transverse phase modulation on the electron's wave function. Here, we show that femtosecond chiral plasmonic near fields enable the generation and dynamic control on the ultrafast timescale of an electron vortex beam. The vortex structure of the resulting electron wavepacket is probed in both real and reciprocal space using ultrafast transmission electron microscopy. Thi…
Motivated by the recent discovery of electron vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (AM), we construct exact Bessel-beam solutions of the Dirac equation. They describe relativistic and nonparaxial corrections to the scalar electron beams. We describe the spin and orbital AM of the electron with Berry-phase corrections and predict the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling in free space. This can be observed as a spin-dependent probability distribution of the focused electron vortex beams. Moreover, the magnetic moment is calculated, which shows different $g$-factors for spin and orbital AM and…
The orbital angular momentum Hall effect and spin Hall effect of electron vortex beams (EVB) have been studied for the EVBs interacting with laser field. In the scenario of paraxial beam, the cumulative effect of the orbit-orbit interaction of EVBs and laser fields drives the orbital Hall effect, which in turn produces a shift of the center of the beam from that of the field-free case towards the polarization axis of photons. Besides, for non-paraxial beams one can also perceive a similar shift of the center of the beam owing to spin Hall effect involving spin-orbit interaction. Our analysis s…
The physics of coherent beams of photons carrying axial orbital angular momentum (OAM) is well understood and such beams, sometimes known as vortex beams, have found applications in optics and microscopy. Recently electron beams carrying very large values of axial OAM have been generated. In the absence of coupling to an external electromagnetic field the propagation of such vortex electron beams is virtually identical mathematically to that of vortex photon beams propagating in a medium with a homogeneous index of refraction. But when coupled to an external electromagnetic field the propagati…
