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Exploiting the full structuration of light fields for storing multiple degrees of freedom holds great promise for applications in classical and quantum optics. Here, the authors demonstrate the storage of spatio-polarization-patterned beams into an optical memory, and its retrieval at the single-photon level.

The more degrees of freedom a quantum observable has, the more complicated it is to measure its probability distribution. Here, the authors deduce the mean and variance of an infinite-dimensional variable, the orbital angular momentum of light, from a two-dimensional one: spin angular momentum.

The authors introduce linear gears to measure mechanical displacements with high sensitivity. Such gears covert tiny transverse shifts between two birefringent devices into a giant polarization rotation of a laser beam.

By exploiting geometric phase control inside a laser cavity to map polarization to orbital angular momentum, a new class of laser that is able to generate all states on the higher-order Poincaré sphere is reported.

Light emitted near an optical waveguide is captured and equally split into two modes with opposite directions of propagation. By controlling the dipole spin of the emitter, it is possible to break this symmetry and select only one direction.

A programmable quantum chip has been developed that generates, manipulates, and launches five-dimensional entangled photons into free-space channels, encoded as optical vortex modes, thus bridging the worlds of integrated and free-space quantum photonics.

Quantum information circuits for ‘quantum joining’ are proposed, in which two qubits of information encoded in the polarization of two photons are re-encoded into the polarization and path degrees of freedom of a single photon, while keeping the overall quantum information constant. The inverse ‘splitting’ process is also proposed.

Topological phases play a fundamental role in a variety of physical systems, yet there is a lack of efficient tools for revealing the occurrence of associated quantum transitions. Here, Cardano et al.report that such transitions can be identified in the statistics of quantum-walk dynamics and validate this idea in a photonic experimental implementation.

Electromagnetic fields in light waves are mainly transverse to propagation direction but actually also have longitudinal components, which may give rise to unexpected optical phenomena involving the angular momentum of light, such as transverse spin and optical torques.

Beating the standard measurement limits is a goal of metrology, as it would allow for more precise estimation of physical quantities. Borrowing concepts from NOON-state quantum metrology, this work presents a single-photon scheme to measure rotation angles of light with super-resolution precision.

The ability to create complex three-dimensional structures of light has reached new heights with the experimental observation of two distinct kinds of toroidal pulses, the optical analogue of smoke rings.

The first observation of the Hong–Ou–Mandel coalescence of photons with orbital angular momentum (OAM) is demonstrated, and this is exploited for optimal quantum cloning of OAM-encoded qubits. OAM states may function as units of quantum information in higher-dimensional space and allow increased information content per photon.

Spin–orbit optical phenomena involve the interaction of the photon spin with the light wave propagation and spatial distribution, mediated by suitable optical media. Here we present a short overview of the emerging photonic applications that rely on such effects.

Quantum communication promises important advances in information and communication technology, yet it suffers from alignment sensitivity. Here, an alignment-free approach is demonstrated using liquid crystal devices, allowing for broader applications, including satellites.

The detection of topological invariants in the bulk remains challenging even in state-of-the-art experiments. Here, Cardanoet al. propose a method to read-out the Zak phases and topological invariants in one-dimensional chiral systems and detect those in a photonic quantum walk of twisted photons.

Non-uniform light beams can create patterns in azo-polymer films by inducing mass transport, yet the process is not well understood. Using optical vortex beams, Ambrosioet al. observe the formation of spiral patterns that are surprisingly sensitive to the optical phase, which they explain with a new model.

Superfluid flow around a vortex is quantized so that vortices become discrete, particle-like defects, with interactions mediated by the surrounding fluid. Here, the authors use a polariton system to experimentally investigate the behavior and scattering of vortices in a two-component superfluid.

A mechanism for confining and guiding light that relies on spin–orbit interactions of light is presented.

Phase vortices and skyrmions manifest as rotational entities in condensates, superfluids, and optics, typically revealed by the analysis of the Berry curvature. Via two-component microcavity polaritons, the authors imprint a dynamical pseudospin texture to the emitted light, generating a continuous vortex with two ultrafast spiraling cores.