The subject of this book is the physics of vortices. A detailed analysis of the dynamics of vortices will be presented. The important topics of vorticity and molecular spin will be dealt with, including the electromagnetic analogy and quantization in superfluids. The effect of molecular spin on the dynamics of molecular nano-confined fluids using the extended Navier-Stokes equations will also be covered –especially important to the theory and applicability of nanofluidics and associated devices. The nanoscale boundary layer and nanoscale vortex core are regions of intense vorticity (molecular spin). It will be shown, based on molecular kinetic theory and thermodynamics, that the macroscopic (solid body) rotation must be accompanied by internal rotation of the molecules. Electric polarization of the internal molecular rotations about the local rotation axis –the Barnett effect – occurs. In such a spin aligned system, major changes in the physical properties of the fluid result.

Applied Continuum Mechanics for Thermo-Fluids presents the tensor notation rules and integral theorems before defining the preliminary concepts and applications of continuum mechanics. It bridges the gap between physical concepts and mathematical expressions with a rigorous mathematical treatment. After discussing fundamental concepts of continuum mechanics, the text explains basic subjects such as the Stokes hypothesis, the second coefficient of viscosity, non-Newtonian fluids, non-symmetric stress tensor, and the full Navier-Stokes equation. With coverage of interdisciplinary topics, the book highlights issues such as relativistic fluid mechanics, stochastic mechanics, fractional calculus, nanoscale fluid mechanics, polar fluids, electrodynamics, and traffic flows. It describes fundamental concepts of vorticity dynamics, including the definition of vorticity and circulation, with corresponding balance equations and related theorems. This text is intended for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate mechanical, chemical, aerospace, civil engineering, and physics students taking continuum mechanics, advanced fluid mechanics, convective heat transfer, turbulence, or any other similar courses. In addition, this book can be an excellent resourec for scientists who want to trigger research on topics related to thermo-fluids. Instructors will be able to utilize a Solutions Manual and Figure Slides for their course.

This book deals with applications in several areas of science and technology that make use of light which carries orbital angular momentum. In most practical scenarios, the angular momentum can be decomposed into two independent contributions: the spin angular momentum and the orbital angular momentum. The orbital contribution affords a fundamentally new degree of freedom, with fascinating and wide-spread applications. Unlike spin angular momentum, which is associated with the polarization of light, the orbital angular momentum arises as a consequence of the spatial distribution of the intensity and phase of an optical field, even down to the single photon limit. Researchers have begun to appreciate its implications for our understanding of the ways in which light and matter can interact, and its practical potential in different areas of science and technology.

This thesis presents significant advances in the imaging and theory of the ultrafast dynamics of surface plasmon polariton fields. The author details construction of a sub-10 femtosecond and sub-10 nanometer spatiotemporal resolution ultrafast photoemission microscope which is subsequently used for the discovery of topological meron and skyrmion-like plasmonic quasiparticles. In particular, this enabled the creation of movies of the surface plasmon polariton fields evolving on sub-optical wavelength scales at around 0.1 femtosecond per image frame undergoing vortex phase evolution. The key insight that the transverse spin of surface plasmon polaritons undergoes a texturing into meron or skyrmion-like topological quasiparticles (defined by the geometric charge of the preparation) follows. In addition, this thesis develops an analytical theory of these new topological quasiparticles, opening new avenues of research, while the ultrafast microscopy techniques established within will also be broadly applicable to studies of nanoscale optical excitations in electronic materials.

This book deals with theoretical bases of the modern optics division concerned with coherent light fields with singularities characterized by phase uncertainty. Singular light fields include laser vortex beams or beams that carry orbital angular momentum. Laser vortex beams that have been introduced in optics in recent years are discussed in detail. Among them, of special notice are families of asymmetric laser vortex beams that, while being devoid of radial symmetry, remain unchanged upon propagation. What makes the laser vortex beams especially interesting is the ability to preserve their structure while propagating in a scattering medium or through a turbulent atmosphere. The orbital angular momentum is an extra degree of freedom of laser vortices because beams with different topological charge can be utilized as independent channels for data transmission in wireless communications. Laser vortex beams are generated from conventional Gaussian beams using liquid crystal light modulators, which are now readily available at any optical laboratory. Provide a framework for the comparative analysis of the efficiency of different vortex beams for micromanipulation. Includes detailed illustrations, enabling the vortex structure to be easily understood even by non-experts. Presents detailed descriptions of more than a dozen most popular types of vortex laser beams. Explores how optical vortices have been used in many practical applications including conventional and quantum wireless communications, micromanipulation, optical measurements with super-resolution, spiral interferometry, microscopy, and atom cooling. Presents in a systematic and detailed form many analytical and numerical results for the propagation vortex optical beams (chiefly in the linear propagation regime).

Plasmonics is an emerging field mainly developed within the past two decades. Due to its unique capabilities to manipulate light at deep subwavelength scales, plasmonics has been commonly treated as the most important part of nanophotonics. Plasmonic-assisted optical microscopy techniques, especially super-resolution microscopy, have shown tremendous potential and attracted much attention. This book aims to collect cutting-edge studies in various optical imaging technologies with advanced performances that are enabled or enhanced by plasmonics. The basic working principles, development details, and potential future direction and perspectives are discussed. Edited by Zhaowei Liu, a prominent researcher in the field of super-resolution microscopy, this book will be an excellent reference for anyone in the field of nanophotonics, plasmonics, and optical microscopy.

Structural phase transitions, mechanical deformations, and the embryonic stages of melting and crystallization are examples of phenomena that can now be imaged in unprecedented structural detail with high spatial resolution, and ten orders of magnitude as fast as hitherto. No monograph in existence attempts to cover the revolutionary dimensions that EM in its various modes of operation nowadays makes possible. The authors of this book chart these developments, and also compare the merits of coherent electron waves with those of synchrotron radiation. They judge it prudent to recall some important basic procedural and theoretical aspects of imaging and diffraction so that the reader may better comprehend the significance of the new vistas and applications now afoot. This book is not a vade mecum - numerous other texts are available for the practitioner for that purpose.