Light transport and vortex-supported wave-guiding in micro-structured optical fibres

In hydrodynamics, vortex generation upon the transition from smooth laminar flows to turbulence is generally accompanied by increased dissipation. However, vortices in the plane can provide transport barriers and decrease losses, as it happens in numerous geophysical, astrophysical flows and in tokamaks. Photon interactions with matter can affect light transport in ways resembling fluid dynamics. Here, we demonstrate significant impact of light vortex formation in micro-structured optical fibres on the energy dissipation. We show possibility of vortex formation in both solid core and hollow core fibres on the zero energy flow lines in the cladding. Through intensive numerical modelling using different independent approaches, we discovered a correlation between appearance of vortices and reduction of light leakage by three orders of magnitude, effectively improving wave guiding. This new effect potentially might have strong impact on numerous practical applications of micro-structured fibres. For instance, a strong light localization based on the same principle can also be achieved in the negative curvature hollow core fibres.