Conical refraction with generalized Bessel-Gaussian beams

Abstract

It is well known that a light beam transforms into a hollow light cylinder after passing along one of the optical axes of a biaxial crystal. This optical phenomenon is known as conical refraction (CR) and fascinates researchers for almost two centuries. The characteristic features of CR find a number of practical applications in optical manipulation, polarization metrology, and singular optics to name a few [1] . However, these seem to be hindered by the lack of intuitive understanding and prediction of the CR transverse intensity pattern. This problem was partially solved by expressing the CR field as a superposition of the Bessel-Gaussian (BG) beams [2] .