INVESTIGATIONS OF COHERENCE AND STRUCTURED LIGHT

The combination of singular optics and partially coherent fields has become increasingly important in the applications of optical communication and optical imaging. Within this, we focus on the phenomena of optical vortices. We use and study the properties of these partially coherent vortex beams such as the total angular momentum, as well as investigate the effects of partial coherence on vortex created phenomena, namely superoscillations. In this dissertation we use the optical vortices as observed through the cross-spectral density in a partially coherent field to create superoscillations and investigate the superoscillatory behavior as the field is randomized. It is shown that a decrease in spatial coherence can in some cases strengthen the superoscillatory behavior, and in others decrease it. We then look at superoscillations that appear in the phase of the correlation function in partially coherent Talbot carpets. Utilizing the Talbot effect, it is shown that superoscillations can be propagated significant distances, even under a decrease in spatial coherence. It is also shown that this decrease in spatial coherence can strengthen the superoscillatory behavior at the primary and secondary Talbot images. We also introduce a modification to the class of partially coherent vortex beams known as Twisted Vortex Gaussian-Schell Model Beams through the addition of polarization. These beams have angular momentum from three different sources: the underlying vortex order of the beam, the "twist" given to the ensemble of beams, and the polarization of the beam. The combination of these angular momentum properties allows for unprecedented control over the total angular momentum of the field and its transverse distribution.