Spiral light beams inspired by galaxies with dark matter

Abstract

Abstract The rotation curves of galaxies reveal the presence of dark matter, which is currently one of the biggest mysteries in physics. We use the orbital angular momentum and linear momentum to connect two systems: the galaxies and the light beams. We customize the phase in light beams as a mixture of the radial and azimuthal components acting on a seed beam to show that their local linear momentum mimics the rotation curves behavior of galaxies. We theoretically analyze the resultant beams, which have a spiral behavior with one or more arms as they propagate, and an increase of topological charges in the central region.The analogy with astronomical phenomena can offer a renewed approach to tailoring the light beams and their fundamental properties.