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Observation of second-order meron polarization textures in optical microcavities
Ist Teil von
Optica, 2021-02, Vol.8 (2), p.255
Erscheinungsjahr
2021
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
EZB Electronic Journals Library
Beschreibungen/Notizen
Multicomponent Bose–Einstein condensates, quantum Hall systems, and
chiral magnetic materials display twists and knots in the continuous
symmetries of their order parameters known as skyrmions. Originally
discovered as solutions to the nonlinear sigma model in quantum field
theory, these vectorial excitations are quantified by a topological
winding number dictating their interactions and global properties of
the host system. Here, we report the experimental observation of a
stable individual second-order meron and antimeron appearing in an
electromagnetic field. We realize these complex textures by confining
light into a liquid-crystal-filled cavity that, through its
anisotropic refractive index, provides an adjustable artificial
photonic gauge field that couples the cavity photon motion to its
polarization, resulting in the formation of these fundamental
vectorial vortex states of light. Our observations could help bring
topologically robust room-temperature optical vector textures into the
field of photonic information processing and storage.