An intuitive approach to structuring the three electric field components of light

Maucher, F.; Skupin, S.; Gardiner, S.A.; Hughes, I.G.

Abstract

This paper presents intuitive interpretations of tightly focused beams of light by drawing analogies with two-dimensional electrostatics, magnetostatics and fluid dynamics. We use a Helmholtz decomposition of the transverse electric field components in the transverse plane to introduce generalized radial and azimuthal polarization states. This reveals the interplay between transverse and longitudinal electric field components in a transparent fashion. Our approach yields a comprehensive understanding of tightly focused laser beams, which we illustrate through several insightful examples.

Citation

Maucher, F., Skupin, S., Gardiner, S., & Hughes, I. (2019). An intuitive approach to structuring the three electric field components of light. New Journal of Physics, 21, Article 013032. https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aaf711

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 7, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jan 30, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 30, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2019
• Journal: New Journal of Physics
• Electronic ISSN: 1367-2630
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Article Number: 013032
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aaf711
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1308979