Oscillatory trajectory of an optical beam propagating in free space.

We describe the experimental observation of nonrectilinear trajectories of a nearly Gaussian light beam propagating in free space, after reflecting from a glass-air interface near critical incidence. The angular-dependent reflection coefficients modulate the incident beam's angular spectrum, shifting the reflected beam from the rectilinear path predicted by geometrical optics. The beam trajectory shows strong dependence on the angle of incidence, changing from rectilinear to oscillatory within 0.

Direct measurement of the composite Goos-Hänchen shift of an optical beam.

We experimentally study the Goos-Hänchen shift of a focused Gaussian optical beam in the critical region of incidence. We directly measure the beam's shift evaluated from the displacement of the location of the beam's intensity peak and its centroid by a novel image analysis method. We verify that the evaluation method has a dramatic impact on the physics of beam shift phenomena.

Side-lobe level reduction in bio-inspired optical phased-array antennas.

Phased arrays are expected to play a critical role in visible and infrared wireless systems. Their improved performance compared to single element antennas finds uses in communications, imaging, and sensing. However, fabrication of photonic antennas and their feeding network require long element separation, leading to the appearance of secondary radiation lobes and, consequently, crosstalk and interference.

Optical image cloning based on electromagnetic induced absorption.

We investigate, both theoretically and experimentally, optical image cloning via electromagnetic induced absorption (EIA). We demonstrate the transfer of small 2D real images imprinted onto a strong coupling beam to a weak probe beam in a Rb vapor cell. We show through EIA that the coupling beam's image is cloned beyond the usual diffraction, with a potential improvement in spatial resolution of the cloned image by a factor of three in comparison to that of the original coupling beam.

Virtual water and water self-sufficiency in agricultural and livestock products in Brazil.

Virtual water trade is often considered a solution for restricted water availability in many regions of the world. Brazil is the world leader in the production and export of various agricultural and livestock products. The country is either a strong net importer or a strong net exporter of these products.

Weak measurement of the composite Goos-Hänchen shift in the critical region.

By using a weak measurement technique, we investigated the interplay between the angular and the lateral Goos-Hänchen shift of a focused He-Ne laser beam for incidence near the critical angle. We verified that this interplay dramatically affects the composite Goos-Hänchen shift of the propagated beam. The experimental results confirm theoretical predictions that recently appeared in the literature.

Measuring vortex charge with a triangular aperture.

A triangular aperture illuminated with a vortex beam creates a truncated lattice diffraction pattern that identifies the charge of the vortex. In this Letter, we demonstrate the measurement of vortex charge via this approach for vortex beams up to charge ±7. We also demonstrate the use of this technique for measuring femtosecond vortices and noninteger vortices, comparing these results with numerical modeling.

Electromagnetically-induced phase grating: a coupled-wave theory analysis.

We use a coupled-wave theory analysis to describe an atomic phase grating based on the giant Kerr nonlinearity of an atomic medium under electromagnetically induced transparency. An analytical expression is found for the diffraction efficiency of the grating. Efficiencies greater than 70% are predicted for incidence at the Bragg angle.

Electromagnetically induced phase grating.

I propose an electromagnetically induced phase grating based on the giant Kerr nonlinearity of an atomic medium under electromagnetically induced transparency. The atomic phase grating behaves similarly to an ideal sinusoidal phase grating, and it is capable of producing a pi phase excursion across a weak probe beam along with high transmissivity. The grating is created with arbitrarily weak fields, and diffraction efficiencies as high as 30% are predicted.

Photoassociation of sodium in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

We form ultracold Na2 molecules by single-photon photoassociation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, measuring the photoassociation rate, linewidth, and light shift of the J = 1, v = 135 vibrational level of the A1 Sigma (+)(u) molecular state. The photoassociation rate constant increases linearly with intensity, even where it is predicted that many-body effects might limit the rate. Our observations are in good agreement with a two-body theory having no free parameters.