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Twist-induced guidance in coreless photonic crystal fiber: A helical channel for light

A century ago, Einstein proposed that gravitational forces were the result of the curvature of space-time and predicted that light rays would deflect when passing a massive celestial object. We report that twisting the periodically structured “space” within a coreless photonic crystal fiber creates...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Beravat, Ramin, Wong, Gordon K. L., Frosz, Michael H., Xi, Xiao Ming, Russell, Philip St.J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5262443/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28138531
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601421
Descripción
Sumario:A century ago, Einstein proposed that gravitational forces were the result of the curvature of space-time and predicted that light rays would deflect when passing a massive celestial object. We report that twisting the periodically structured “space” within a coreless photonic crystal fiber creates a helical channel where guided modes can form despite the absence of any discernible core structure. Using a Hamiltonian optics analysis, we show that the light rays follow closed spiral or oscillatory paths within the helical channel, in close analogy with the geodesics of motion in a two-dimensional gravitational field. The mode diameter shrinks, and its refractive index rises, as the twist rate increases. The birefringence, orbital angular momentum, and dispersion of these unusual modes are explored.