Propagation of a vortex Airy beam in chiral medium

The analytical expression for the propagation of a vortex Airy beam through ABCD optical systems is derived. As an example, the propagation of the beam in chiral medium is discussed. It is shown that the vortex will destroy the center lobe of the Airy beam at a critical position which is different for the left circularly polarized (LCP) and the right circularly polarized (RCP) vortex Airy beam. The intensity distribution exhibits novel features due to the existence of the vortex. In addition, the intensity distributions of the LCP beam and the RCP beam are more sensitive to the chirality parameter in far-zone than that in near-zone. The transverse shift of the center lobe of a vortex Airy beam during propagation is affected by the chiral parameter.