Generic Optical Singularities and Beam-field Phenomena due to General Paraxial Beam Reflection at a Plane Dielectric Interface

Abstract

A single paraxial beam reflection at a plane dielectric interface, configured appropriately, can lead to the formation of a polarization singularity in the inhomogeneously polarized output beam-field for any central angle of incidence. In this paper we derive the necessary condition to realize this effect. We explore the phase singularity characteristics associated to this polarization-singular field; and explore the dynamics of the singularities due to controlled variations of the input polarization. The simulation-generated exact field information lead to the exploration of the unique Goos-H\"anchen, Imbert-Fedorov and spin shifts of the optical-singular fields and the anticipation of an exact mathematical characterization of spin-orbit interaction phenomena involved therein. The formation of a phase singularity independent of a polarization singularity is explained subsequently. Interrelating these seemingly unconnected beam-field phenomena and generic optical singularities can lead to a significant and fundamental understanding of the inhomogeneously polarized beam-field; and additionally, our singularity generation method can find potential application in experimental characterization of the involved dielectric media.