Observation of Polarization Singularities in a Brewster-Reflected Paraxial Beam

Abstract

Brewster-reflection of a post-paraxial optical beam at a plane dielectric interface unravels fundamentally significant optical singularity dynamics. We express the simulated field-component profiles of a Brewster-reflected post-paraxial beam-field via empirical functions, using which we demonstrate optical beam-shifts and formation of phase singularities. These occurrences naturally reveal the presence and complex transitional-dynamics of generic polarization-singularities-which we observe via simulation and experiments. A single reflection being the core process, our method becomes a fundamentally appealing way to generate optical singularities and to study their dynamics.