Singular Electromagnetics: From Phase Singularities to Optical Skyrmions and Beyond (Adv. Phys. Res. 5/2025)

Singular Electromagnetics

A vortex of twisted light beams serves as a streamline to organize and present the primary research objectives of singular electromagnetics/singular optics. As reviewed by Jiafu Wang, Xuezhi Zheng and co-workers in article number 2400083, these objectives include phase singularities in complex scalar fields, polarization singularities in complex vector fields, and 3D topological defects (specifically, four types are presented: optical skyrmions, hopfions, knots, and Möbius strips). These research objectives are well-recognized within the communities of electromagnetics, optics, photonics, metamaterials, and plasmonics, as well as acoustics, while also capturing the attention of a broader audience from other research fields or even non-research readers.