Singularities in the transverse fields of electromagnetic waves. II. Observations on the electric field

Abstract

Electromagnetic waves propagating in free space contain three kinds of singularities called C lines, S surfaces and disclinations. The paper describes observations of these singularities in two different mono-chromatic microwave fields. The observations confirm all the theor­etically predicted properties of the singularities that could be tested. As expected, the singularities were found to be prominent structural features of the fields and in consequence to provide an economical means of characterizing their structure. A notable result is the observation of both right-hand and left-hand C lines in a field that is nominally uniformly left-hand circularly polarized. This is in agreement with the previous assertion that, in general, electromagnetic wavefields contain both right-hand and left-hand polarized regions.