Generation of intense, polarization-controlled magnetic fields with non-paraxial structured laser beams

Abstract

The ability to spatially separate the electric and magnetic fields of a light beam enables the inspection of laser–matter interactions driven solely by optical magnetic fields. However, magnetic field excitations are commonly orders of magnitude weaker than those driven by the electric field. Several studies have already demonstrated the isolation of an intense, linearly polarized magnetic field using structured light. In this work, we report the generation of isolated high intensity magnetic fields with controlled polarization state in the non-paraxial regime using structured laser beams. Our theoretical findings highlight a significant enhancement in the amplitude of the longitudinal magnetic field carried by an azimuthally polarized laser under tight-focusing conditions. Furthermore, by implementing a multiple-beam configuration, we achieve precise control over the polarization state and amplitude of the spatially isolated magnetic field. We report the generation of polarization-controlled magnetic fields reaching up to tens of Tesla, even from moderately intense laser beams of ∼1012 W/cm2. Our study paves the way for ultra-intense interactions with circularly polarized magnetic fields from a feasible experimental setup point of view, particularly interesting to probe ferromagnetic materials and chiral media.