Abstract

Topological defects in vector fields constitute polarization singularities that have numerous applications in classical and quantum optics. These beams are inhomogeneously polarized and are shown to self-heal under symmetric amplitude perturbations. Polarization singular beams are characterized using a singularity index that can be detected using Stokes polarimetry or other interferometric and diffraction approaches. However, the information about the singularity index is lost when these beams travel through random scattering media; this results in a spatially fluctuating polarization pattern known as polarization speckle. This paper proposes and experimentally demonstrates a new method to detect the topological index of these randomly scattered V-point singularities using higher-order Stokes correlations in a lensless condition. A detailed theoretical basis is developed, and the performance of the technique is demonstrated by retrieving the signature of polarization singularities with Poincaré–Hopf index $| {\boldsymbol \eta} | = 1$ and $| {\boldsymbol \eta} | = 2$. We also demonstrate that by studying the intensity–intensity correlations of the polarization speckle, it is possible to differentiate between different vector beams having the same magnitude as the Poincaré–Hopf index.

© 2023 Optica Publishing Group

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