Effect of evanescent wave on vector vortex beams on higher-order Poincaré sphere

Abstract Based on the vector angular spectrum representation, the contributions of the propagating and evanescent waves to the vector vortex Laguerre–Gaussian beams on the higher-order Poincaré sphere are investigated in the nonparaxial regime. The evolution properties of the propagating and evanescent waves are closely related to the topological charge, the radial order, the ellipticity angle, and the waist width. The influences of the evanescent waves on the intensity, the spin and orbital angular momenta of the vector vortex beams are discussed in detail.