Passive Cross-Basis Mode Transitions Along a Single Freely Propagating Bessel Beam

Abstract: The transverse modal identity of a freely propagating optical beam is ordinarily fixed at the point of generation. We show that the conical angular spectrum of a Bessel beam establishes a one-to-one mapping between radial beam position and axial reconstruction distance. This mapping converts the radial aperture of a single static, phase-only spatial light modulator into a programmable longitudinal-mode register. By partitioning the modulator into independent annular regions, we encode discrete transverse modes at preselected axial positions. We demonstrate this principle with programmable ring-lattice fields of axially varying site number, and with passive transitions that sequence through Bessel, Bessel vortex beam, Hermite-Gaussian-Bessel, and Airy caustic modes within a single beam, without dynamic modulation or cascaded optical elements.