{"paper":{"title":"Constant sensitivity birefringence metrology using vector vortex beams","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"physics.optics","authors_text":"Carmelo Rosales-Guzm\\'an, Daniel F. Urrego, Daniel Salamanca-Rold\\'an, Gabriela Flores-Cova, Juan P. Torres","submitted_at":"2026-06-16T18:35:16Z","abstract_excerpt":"Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) microscopy and chiral analysis are two imaging techniques that measure the birefringence, i.e., the phase difference introduced by a sample on two orthogonal polarizations. Conventional approaches employ Gaussian beams and infer birefringence from polarization changes, resulting in phase-estimation sensitivities that depend on the unknown phase. We demonstrate here a new type of birefringence detector. It makes use of a vector vortex beam, a type of structured light endowed with optical modes that carry opposite orbital angular momentum (OAM). Using qua"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"2606.18391","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"integrity":{"clean":true,"summary":{"advisory":0,"critical":0,"by_detector":{},"informational":0},"endpoint":"/pith/2606.18391/integrity.json","findings":[],"available":true,"detectors_run":[],"snapshot_sha256":"c28c3603d3b5d939e8dc4c7e95fa8dfce3d595e45f758748cecf8e644a296938"},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}