A Guided Tour of Light Beams (Second Edition): From lasers to optical knots

This book provides an introductory overview of a variety of novel light beams, covering their basic physics and optics, and discussing new cutting-edge applications to which they give rise in science, technology, and medicine. Following a short introduction, topics include optical propagation, Gaussian beams and lasers, orbital angular momentum and Laguerre–Gauss beams, Bessel and Airy beams, as well as other types of optical beams. Later chapters focus on entangled and pin-like beams and b...