Researchers use Smith hat mathematical tile to twist laser light in unusual patterns

The short version

• Researchers constructed optical structures based on the Smith hat, a mathematical shape that solved the Einstein problem.[ScienceDaily]
• Illuminating these structures with laser light produced diffraction patterns forming distinctive pinwheel-like shapes.[ScienceDaily]
• The diffraction patterns exhibited chirality and varied depending on the direction and polarization of the incident light.[ScienceDaily]
• It remains to be seen how these aperiodic monotile patterns will be applied in practical optical technologies.[ScienceDaily]

Key facts

• Researchers built optical structures using the Smith hat, an aperiodic monotile shape discovered in 2023.[ScienceDaily]
• Shining laser light on the structures generated pinwheel-like diffraction patterns with chiral properties.[ScienceDaily]
• The observed diffraction patterns changed according to the direction and polarization of the incoming laser light.[ScienceDaily]

Sources

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• The shape behind the Einstein problem just revealed strange new physicsScienceDaily - Science