Dynamic propagation of optical vortices embedded in full Poincaré beams with rotationally polarization symmetry

Dynamical propagation characteristics of optical vortices embedded in Full Poincaré (FP) beams with rotationally polarization symmetry are studied in this paper to illustrate that polarization map alone does not provide a unique description of electromagnetic field. It is shown that different combinations of optical vortices embedded in FP beams lead to different propagation dynamics, even though the polarization maps of electromagnetic fields are identical. We investigate the interaction between optical vortices and the background field by numerical methods. The rotation, reversion of rotation and annihilation behaviors of the optical vortices with the same and opposite topological charges embedded in the FP beams are investigated in details. Numerical results show that FP beams with stable optical vortices in the center maintain the polarization distribution better. Moreover, we find that whether or not equality between the map area of right hand and left hand polarization in the source plane can affect the distribution of polarization map. The results of this study may help to develop more intuitive understanding of optical vortices motion embedded in vector beams and offer a new perspective for analyzing polarization rotation in the process of propagation.