SCOPE OF THE SYMPOSIUM

Topological deformation of fields is the core of the description of a variety of natural phenomena. Its most extreme but universal manifestation occurs when the field is so strongly folded that it bends back upon itself to form a topological dislocation or defect. Screw wavefront dislocation looking like a helical surface is a common defect type, which possesses phase singularity. In the field of optical physics, a beam with a helical wavefront is termed an optical vortex. It carries a well-defined orbital angular momentum, which attracts recent scientific interests. The International Symposium on “Topology and Singularity in Optical Physics (TOP2007)”, sponsored by The 21st Century COE program of “Topological Science and Technology”, provides a forum for discussion of theoretical and experimental aspects of the topology and singularity in optical physics.