Topological structures in vector-vortex beam fields

Optical singularities of index I-u = +/- 1/2 associated with lemon, monstar, and star topological structures in pi-symmetric fields and singularities of index I-c = +/- 1 associated with radial, circulation (elliptic), spiral, node, and saddle structures in 2 pi-symmetric vector fields are studied in detail here. The topological structures in the polarization ellipse orientation field, the Stokes field, and the Poynting vector field are derived from the same vector-vortex beam fields, and their interdependencies are explored using a designed experimental setup. We find that the inherently stable topological approach is much more informative for a deeper understanding of complex vector-vortex beam fields. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America