Passive Cross-Basis Mode Transitions Along a Single Freely Propagating Bessel Beam

Henry P. Evans; Layton A. Hall

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arXiv · 2605.17200

Passive Cross-Basis Mode Transitions Along a Single Freely Propagating Bessel Beam

Henry P. Evans·Layton A. Hall

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Abstract

The transverse modal identity of a freely propagating optical beam is ordinarily fixed at the point of generation. We show that the conical angular spectrum of a Bessel beam establishes a one-to-one mapping between radial beam position and axial reconstruction distance. This mapping converts the radial aperture of a single static, phase-only spatial light modulator into a programmable longitudinal-mode register. By partitioning the modulator into independent annular regions, we encode discrete transverse modes at preselected axial positions. We demonstrate this principle with programmable ring-lattice fields of axially varying site number, and with passive transitions that sequence through Bessel, Bessel vortex beam, Hermite-Gaussian-Bessel, and Airy caustic modes within a single beam, without dynamic modulation or cascaded optical elements.

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Henry P. Evans, Layton A. Hall. 2026-05-16. Passive Cross-Basis Mode Transitions Along a Single Freely Propagating Bessel Beam. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.17200

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