Transverse energy flow in an optical Skyrmionic Hopfion.

The energy flow of light represents a natural way of investigating complex light fields with respect to their applicability. With the generation of a three-dimensional Skyrmionic Hopfion structure in light, which is a topological 3D field configuration with particle-like nature, we paved the way to employ optical, topological constructs. In this work, we present an analysis of the transverse energy flow in the optical Skyrmionic Hopfion, showing the transfer of the topological properties to the mechanical attributes such as the optical angular momentum (OAM).

Particle-like topologies in light.

Three-dimensional (3D) topological states resemble truly localised, particle-like objects in physical space. Among the richest such structures are 3D skyrmions and hopfions, that realise integer topological numbers in their configuration via homotopic mappings from real space to the hypersphere (sphere in 4D space) or the 2D sphere. They have received tremendous attention as exotic textures in particle physics, cosmology, superfluids, and many other systems.