The singularities of light: intensity, phase, polarisation

Michael V. Berry

doi:10.1038/s41377-023-01270-8

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The singularities of light: intensity, phase, polarisation

Correspondence

- The singularities of light: intensity, phase, polarisation
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 12, Issue 10, Pages: 2023-2026(2023)
- Affiliations：
  
  H H Wills Physics Laboratory, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
- Author bio：
  
  Michael V. Berry (asymptotico@bristol.ac.uk)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-023-01270-8
  CLC：
- Published：31 October 2023，
  
  Published Online：19 September 2023，
  
  Received：28 June 2023，
  
  Revised：13 August 2023，
  
  Accepted：21 August 2023
- Accepted：
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Berry, M. V. The singularities of light: intensity, phase, polarisation. Light: Science & Applications, 12, 2023-2026 (2023).
DOI：

Berry, M. V. The singularities of light: intensity, phase, polarisation. Light: Science & Applications, 12, 2023-2026 (2023). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-023-01270-8.

摘要

Abstract

In modern optics

light can be described at different levels: as rays

as scalar waves

as vector fields

and as quantum fields. In the first three levels

there are singularities—characteristic features

useful in interpreting phenomena at that level. In geometrical optics

the singularities are ray caustics; in scalar wave optics

they are phase singularities (=wave dislocations= wave vortices = nodal manifolds); in vector waves

they are singularities where the polarisation of light is purely linear or purely circular. The singularities at each level are dissolved at the next level. Similar singularities occur in all waves

not just light.

关键词

Keywords

references

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