Braided nodal lines in wave superpositions

Abstract

Nodal lines (phase singularities, optical vortices) are the generic interference fringes of complex scalar waves. Here, an exact complex solution of the time independent wave equation (Helmholtz equation) is considered, possessing nodal lines which are braided in the form of a borromean, or pig-tail braid. The braid field is a superposition of counterpropagating, counterrotating, non-coaxial third order Bessel beams, and a plane wave whose propagation is perpendicular to that of the beams. The construction is structurally stable, and can be generalized to a limited class of other braids.