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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 17: Photonics and Biophotonics I

Q 17.1: Vortrag

Dienstag, 3. März 2026, 11:00–11:15, P 3

Stable Optical Vortex Rings in Linear and Nonlinear Media — •Zhamila Kulchukova¹ and Andrey Surzhykov^1,2 — ¹Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany — ²Institut für Mathematische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstrasse 3, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany

Vortex rings are fundamental to both classical and quantum physical systems, from turbulent fluids to BECs. In optics, vortex rings are quantized ring-shaped vortices with vanishing intensity at the core, appearing as threads of darkness tied into a loop. Studying the nature of optical vortex rings and ways of manipulating them opens novel avenues for applications of structured light, i.e. optical tweezers, and helps to uncover the underlying mechanisms of physical phenomena not yet fully understood, such as quantum turbulence and spontaneous knotting. In this talk, we theoretically investigate an experimentally accessible system that exhibits stable vortex rings in vacuum and in nonlinear (focusing and defocusing) Kerr media. We demonstrate that the rings are not destroyed by symmetry-breaking and nonlinear effects, but instead undergo topological transformations of varying complexity. Despite its simplicity, our system provides a useful framework to study optical vortex rings and their dynamics. Moreover, it can open new ways to investigate the fine structure of the light and its applications in light-matter interactions.

Keywords: optical vortex; vortex ring; Kerr medium; topological event; Gaussian beam