Twisted Light and the mirage effect

Abstract

We study the transformation of an OAM-carrying beam propagating through a vertical gradient of refractive index present in a water-ethanol column. Proper liquid mixing and incidence conditions upon the solution cause the beam to undergo a mirror inversion along the vertical direction, forming an inferior mirage. This path reverses the handedness of the beam and unlike mirror inversion witnessed at sharp interfaces, mirror inversion occurs smoothly and topological charge inversion is accompanied by astigmatic changes. It is also possible to obtain, at the exit of the solution, a beam that has been partially inverted, thus presents spatially varying orbital fluxes.