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  • Open Access

Extracting fine topological features of high-dimensional fields in structured light

An Aloysius Wang*, Yunqi Zhang, Yuxi Cai, and Chao He†

  • *Contact author: aloysius.wang@gmail.com
  • †Contact author: chao.he@eng.ox.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033525 – Published 22 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/535c-7l68

Abstract

Topological invariants play a central role in structured light, providing robust, discrete descriptors of complex optical fields. In an effort to systematically expand such invariants, we detail and generalize two complementary mechanisms for extracting lower-dimensional components of a higher-dimensional field: one associated with phase vortices, in which a gauge structure is relevant, and one based on polarization, for which it is not. Together, these mechanisms form part of a broader framework for defining topological invariants in high-dimensional fields, enabling high-density and robust information encoding through topological field engineering.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 033525– Published 22 September, 2026
  • Received 19 June 2026
  • Accepted 27 August 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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