Abstract Stable laser resonators support three fundamental families of transverse modes: the Hermite, Laguerre, and Ince Gaussian modes. These modes are crucial for understanding complex resonators, beam propagation, and structured light. We experimentally observe a new family of fundamental laser modes in stable resonators: Boyer-Wolf Gaussian modes. By studying the isomorphism between laser cavities and quadratic Hamiltonians, we design a laser resonator equivalent to a quantum two-dimensional anisotropic harmonic oscillator with a 2:1 frequency ratio. The generated Boyer-Wolf Gaussian modes exhibit a parabolic structure and show remarkable agreement with our theoretical predictions. These modes are also eigenmodes of a 2:1 anisotropic gradient refractive index medium, suggesting their presence in any physical system with a 2:1 anisotropic quadratic potential. We identify a transition connecting Boyer-Wolf Gaussian modes to Weber nondiffractive parabolic beams. These new modes are foundational for structured light, and open exciting possibilities for applications in laser micromachining, particle micromanipulation, and optical communications.
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Simulating Quantum State Revival with Paraxial Beam Propagation
We explore the equivalence between paraxial optical beam propagation and 2D harmonic oscillator evolution. The phenomenon of quantum state revival of harmonic oscillator is shown to be simulated with the propagation of a focusing beam.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2316878
- PAR ID:
- 10626902
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optica Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 978-1-957171-95-1
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- JW4A.11
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Denver, Colorado
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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