Rotational Doppler effect detection by LG beams with a nonzero radial index.

The capability to detect the rotational speed of non-cooperative targets in a long distance is a difficult problem to be solved. In recent years, vortex light provides a feasible solution for the measurement of rotational speed for its spiral phase and the orbital angular momentum. Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) mode, as the typical vortex beam, has been widely employed in rotational Doppler effect (RDE) experiments. Here, we show that the nonzero radial index LG beam not only has a specific physical meaning but also can enhance the light intensity and the amplitude of RDE frequency signal relative to a zero radial index LG beam. To this end, we theoretically analyze the reason of intensity enhancement of a nonzero radial index beam and verify the conclusion in a variable control experiment. Our study provides a new aspect of LG beams that can be considered in rotational speed detection based on RDE. It may produce an improvement of the detection range of rotating targets in practical applications.