Photonic Spin-orbit Coupling and Topological Properties of Evanescent Fields

Optical spin-orbit coupling describes how spin angular momentum of light (associated with circular polarisation of an electromagnetic wave) influences a propagation of light beam and its orbital angular momentum. The spin-orbit coupling in evanescent waves results in complex topological field structures analogous to prototypical condensed matter phenomena, such as quantum spin-Hall effect, skyrmions, merons, and others. In this talk, we will overview spin-orbit coupling, its topological manifestations and applications.