Affiliation:
1. Naval Research Laboratory
2. University of Virginia
3. Jacobs Technology, Inc.
Abstract
Recently we predicted and experimentally validated a new physical
mechanism for altering the propagation path of a monochromatic beam
[Opt.
Express 30, 38907
(2022)OPEXFF1094-408710.1364/OE.467678]. Specifically, we showed
that by properly tailoring the spatial distribution of the linear
state of polarization transverse to the direction of propagation, the
beam followed a curved trajectory in free space. Here we extend the
model to the partially coherent and partially polarized polychromatic
case by redefining the beam amplitude, phase, and polarization angle
as appropriate statistical quantities. In particular, the definition
of polarization angle represents a fundamentally new quantity in
modeling beam propagation and is shown to be consistent with recent
works on energy and momentum flow. In the new model, the beam
curvature matches that of our previous work in the fully coherent case
but is predicted to vanish for an unpolarized, spatially incoherent
beam. Simulated beam trajectories are shown for varying levels of
initial partial coherence and for different polarization profiles. A
new class of non-diffracting beams is also suggested by way
of example.
Subject
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition,Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials