Optical spatiotemporal vortices

Abstract

Spatiotemporal vortices of light, featuring transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM) and energy circulation in the spatiotemporal domain, have received increasing attention recently. The experimental realization of the controllable generation of spatiotemporal vortices triggers a series of research in this field. This review article covers the latest developments of spatiotemporal vortices of light ranging from theoretical physics, experimental generation schemes, and characterization methods, to applications and future perspectives. This new degree of freedom in photonic OAM endowed by spatiotemporal vortices paves the way to the discovery of novel physical mechanisms and photonic applications in light science.