Detection of the topological charge of an optical vortex from measurements of the intensity at the interferometer output: Principles and simulation

The method of vortex topological charge detection based on measurements of light field intensity and design of a corresponding detector are suggested. A mathematical model of the detector is introduced in the work. Results of numerical experiments simulating recognition of a vortex in the presence of noise are also presented along with estimations of the vortex detector performance. The data of numerical experiments confirm analytical calculations.