Tying knots in light fields


Abstract in English

We construct a new family of null solutions to Maxwells equations in free space whose field lines encode all torus knots and links. The evolution of these null fields, analogous to a compressible flow along the Poynting vector that is both geodesic and shear-free, preserves the topology of the knots and links. Our approach combines the Bateman and spinor formalisms for the construction of null fields with complex polynomials on $mathbb{S}^3$. We examine and illustrate the geometry and evolution of the solutions, making manifest the structure of nested knotted tori filled by the field lines.

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