Optical and sound helical structures in a Mandelstam-Brillouin mirror

Abstract

It is shown theoretically that the phase conjugation of a speckle optical field in a Mandelstam-Brillouin mirror is accompanied by the excitation of helical hypersonic waves with a step equal to one-half of the optical wavelength. The excitation of these waves violates the initial isotropy of the dielectric medium. The predicted effect admits clear physical interpretation based on the angular momentum conservation. The angular momentum transfer from the light to the medium occurs in the vicinity of an optical singularity (optical vortex line) due to reversal of the light orbital angular momentum by the phase-conjugation mirror. The excitation of hypersonic waves transferring the angular momentum is the necessary condition for the reversal of the angular momentum of the reflected light. © 2008 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.