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Abstract The technologies used in the manipulation of light can be used to do analogue simulations of physical systems with wave-like equations of motion. This analogy is maximized by the use of all the degrees of freedom of light. The Helmholtz equation in physical optics and the Schodinger equation in quantum mechanics share the same mathematical form. We use this connection to prepare non-diffracting optical beams representing the spatial and temporal dynamics of a nonlinear physical system: the quantum pendulum. By using the propagation coordinate to represent time in the quantum problem, we are able to analogue-simulate quantum wavepacket dynamics. These manifest themselves in novel optical beams with rich three-dimensional structures, such as rotation and sloshing of the light's intensity as it propagates. Our experimental results agree very well with the predictions from quantum theory, thus demonstrating that our system can be used as a platform to simulate the quantum pendulum dynamics. This three-dimensional light-sculpting capability has the potential to impact fields such as manipulation with light and imaging. 

We use spatial light modulation to investigate the diffractive effects of gravitational lensing in the laboratory. Using this new platform for laboratory astrophysics, we can overcome the coherence challenges that prevent the observation of diffraction in astronomical imaging. These studies will inform gravitational lensing of gravitational waves when imaging of gravitational waves becomes available. Our previous work involved studying lensing by a single mass, symmetric and elliptical. This work focuses on the patterns produced by a binary-mass system. We observed rich 2-dimensional interference patterns bounded by caustics. Comparison of experimental results with preliminary theoretical calculations is excellent.