Topological beams in complex media and turbulent environments

Rapid progress in photonic technologies, including advanced imaging and microscopy, precision metrology, optical communication, information processing, and biomedical applications, requires expanding the degrees of freedom used to control light beyond the conventional parameters of amplitude, phase, and polarization. Topologically structured optical fields have emerged as powerful new degrees of freedom, offering unique opportunities for shaping light in space and time. Among these, complex structures such as optical links, knots, and the recently proposed “flower beams” provide novel pathways for studying light–matter interactions and enabling new photonic functionalities. In this talk, we will present our theoretical and experimental studies on the generation and detection of “structured light and darkness,” and their linear and nonlinear interactions with matter. In particular, we will discuss their transmission through complex environments, including metasurfaces, strongly scattering media, and turbulence.