Observation of an x-ray vortex.
Phase singularities are a ubiquitous feature of waves of all forms and represent a fundamental aspect of wave topology. An optical vortex phase singularity occurs when there is a spiral phase ramp about a point phase singularity. We report an experimental observation of an optical vortex in a field consisting of 9-keV x-ray photons. The vortex is created with an x-ray optical structure that imparts a spiral phase distribution to the incident wave field and is observed by use of diffraction about a wire to create a division-of-wave-front interferometer.
Peele
Andrew G
AG
McMahon
Philip J
PJ
Paterson
David
D
Tran
Chanh Q
CQ
Mancuso
Adrian P
AP
Nugent
Keith A
KA
Hayes
Jason P
JP
Harvey
Erol
E
Lai
Barry
B
McNulty
Ian
I