A topological approach for characterising optical skyrmions

Amy McWilliam; Claire M. Cisowski; Zhujun Ye; Fiona C. Speirits; Jörg B. Götte; Stephen M. Barnett; Sonja Franke-Arnold

doi:10.1117/12.3002420

12 March 2024 A topological approach for characterising optical skyrmions

Amy McWilliam, Claire M. Cisowski, Zhujun Ye, Fiona C. Speirits, Jörg B. Götte, Stephen M. Barnett, Sonja Franke-Arnold

Proceedings Volume 12901, Complex Light and Optical Forces XVIII; 1290105 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002420
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Skyrmions are topologically protected field configurations characterised by a topological index, the skyrmion number. Optical skyrmions are ideally suited to investigate topological structures due to the ease of generating arbitrary light fields, and the freedom from energy constraints encountered by, for example, magnetic skyrmions. Building on our previous work of a topologically defined skyrmion number,1 here we demonstrate the conservation of the skyrmion number of hedgehog skyrmions and bimerons under propagation. We furthermore generate tunable multi-skyrmions from superpositions of oppositely polarised Gaussian and split-vortex beams of different waists, and find that the skyrmion number is conserved as a function of waist scaling. For both cases, the topological definition of the skyrmion number forms an intuitive geometric approach to understanding the underlying topology and to identifying the individual skyrmion structures.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Amy McWilliam, Claire M. Cisowski, Zhujun Ye, Fiona C. Speirits, Jörg B. Götte, Stephen M. Barnett, and Sonja Franke-Arnold "A topological approach for characterising optical skyrmions", Proc. SPIE 12901, Complex Light and Optical Forces XVIII, 1290105 (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002420

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available