Insider Brief
Researchers at Vilnius University developed a theoretical method that uses light to pre-program atoms to reshape and control complex structured laser beams without requiring external magnetic fields.
The model shows that a prepared atomic gas can modify both the spatial structure and polarization of optical vector vortices, creating a feedback process in which light shapes the atoms and the atoms in turn reshape the light.
The researchers say the all-optical approach could provide a more scalable way to manipulate structured light for applications including quantum computing, high-capacity quantum communications using qudits, and advanced optical sensing technologies.
PRESS RELEASE — Researchers from the Faculty of Physics at Vilnius University have developed a theoretical model that allows atoms to be “pre-programmed” by light alone to reshape laser beams that carry both a twist and a polarisation. The study by master’s student Dharma Prasetya Permana, alongside Dr Mažena Mackoit-Sinkevičienė, Dr Julius Ruseckas, and Dr Hamid Reza Hamedi from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, opens a magnet-free route to controlling structured light for quantum technologies. The research was recently published in the prestigious journal “Physical Review A”.
