Thirty years ago, Coullet et al. proposed that a special optical field exists in laser cavities
bearing some analogy with the superfluid vortex. Since then, optical vortices have been …

As they travel through space, some light beams rotate. Such light beams have angular
momentum. There are two particularly important ways in which a light beam can rotate: if …

Principles of Adaptive Optics describes the foundations, principles, and applications of
adaptive optics (AO) and its enabling technologies. This leading textbook addresses the …

This article reviews recent progress leading to the generation of optical vortex beams. After
introducing the basics of optical vortex beams and their promising applications, we …

What is singular optics? This new branch of modern physical optics deals with a wide class
of effects associated with phase singularities in wave fields, as well as with the topology of …

A new kind of optics has grown up during the last 25 years. Geometrical optics has been
studied for centuries (the law of reflection was known to the ancient Greeks) and wave optics …

Spin angular momentum of photons and the associated polarization of light has been known
for many years. However, it is only over the last decade or so that physically realizable …

Some 16 years ago, Allen et al.[Phys. Rev. A 45, 8185 (1992)] recognised that laser beams
which carried an angular momentum additional to photon spin, could be realized in the …

Topological defects play a key role in a variety of physical systems, ranging from high-
energy to solid-state physics. A skyrmion is a type of topological defect that has shown …

" This engagingly written text provides a useful pedagogical introduction to an extensive
class of geometrical phenomena in the optics of polarization and phase, including simple …