Topological Polarization Singularities Enabled Controllable Filamentation

Filamentation has garnered significant interest for its potential physical properties, complexity, and practicality. However, achieving controllable and customizable filamentation is a major challenge. Here, a new method based on the topological properties of polarization singularities (PSs) is proposed and experimentally verified to generate robust filament arrays. It is found that the number of filaments is directly linked to the spatial topological distribution of PSs, allowing for the generation of controllable filaments. Furthermore, the position and interval of the filaments can be flexibly controlled by modulating the PS spacing. Remarkably, the resulting filament patterns exhibit a robust feature insensitive to the random noise, a property attributed to the topological robustness of PSs. The physical mechanism governing the interaction between multisingularity vector optical fields (MS-VOFs) and Kerr media is also elucidated. Our findings may open new avenues for exploring the interaction between PSs and nonlinear media and hold promise for applications in optical manipulation, laser processing, and other areas.