arXiv · 1402.2917
An experiment on the shifts of reflected C-lines
Abstract
An experiment is described that tests theoretical predictions on how C-lines incident obliquely on a surface behave on reflection. C-lines in a polarised wave are the analogues of the optical vortices carried by a complex scalar wave, which is the usual model for describing light and other electromagnetic waves. The centre of a laser beam that carries a (degenerate) C-line is shifted on reflection by the well-known Goos-Hänchen and Imbert-Fedorov effects, but the C-line itself splits into two, both of which are shifted longitudinally and laterally; their shifts are different from that of the beam centre. To maximise the effect to be measured, internal reflection in a glass prism close to the critical angle was used. In a simple situation like this two recently published independent theories of C-line reflection overlap and it is shown that their predictions are identical. The measured differences in the lateral shifts of the two reflected C-lines are compared with theoretical expectations over a range of incidence angles.
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W. Löffler, J. F. Nye, J. H. Hannay. 2014-02-12. An experiment on the shifts of reflected C-lines. https://doi.org/10.1088/2040-8978%2F16%2F8%2F085703
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