Heading choices of flying Drosophila under changing angles of polarized light

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1101/665877 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas F. Mathejczyk ◽

Mathias F. Wernet

Keyword(s):

Incident Angle ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Green Light ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Open Loop ◽

Slow Rotation ◽

Visually Guided ◽

Polarization Pattern ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

3D Printed

SummaryMany navigating insects include the celestial polarization pattern as an additional visual cue to orient their travels. Spontaneous orientation responses of both walking and flying fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to linearly polarized light have previously been demonstrated. Using newly designed modular flight arenas consisting entirely of off-the-shelf parts and 3D-printed components we present individual flying flies with a slow and continuous rotational change in the incident angle of linear polarization. Under such open-loop conditions, single flies choose arbitrary headings with respect to the angle of polarized light and show a clear tendency to maintain those chosen headings for several minutes, thereby adjusting their course to the slow rotation of the incident stimulus. Importantly, flies show the tendency to maintain a chosen heading even when two individual test periods under a linearly polarized stimulus are interrupted by an epoch of unpolarized light lasting several minutes. Finally, we show that these behavioral responses are wavelength-specific, existing under polarized UV stimulus while being absent under polarized green light. Taken together, these findings provide further evidence supporting Drosophila’s abilities to use celestial cues for visually guided navigation and course correction.

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Heading choices of flying Drosophila under changing angles of polarized light

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-53330-y ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Thomas F. Mathejczyk ◽

Mathias F. Wernet

Keyword(s):

Incident Angle ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Green Light ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Open Loop ◽

Slow Rotation ◽

Visually Guided ◽

Polarization Pattern ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

3D Printed

AbstractMany navigating insects include the celestial polarization pattern as an additional visual cue to orient their travels. Spontaneous orientation responses of both walking and flying fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) to linearly polarized light have previously been demonstrated. Using newly designed modular flight arenas consisting entirely of off-the-shelf parts and 3D-printed components we present individual flying flies with a slow and continuous rotational change in the incident angle of linear polarization. Under such open-loop conditions, single flies choose arbitrary headings with respect to the angle of polarized light and show a clear tendency to maintain those chosen headings for several minutes, thereby adjusting their course to the slow rotation of the incident stimulus. Importantly, flies show the tendency to maintain a chosen heading even when two individual test periods under a linearly polarized stimulus are interrupted by an epoch of unpolarized light lasting several minutes. Finally, we show that these behavioral responses are wavelength-specific, existing under polarized UV stimulus while being absent under polarized green light. Taken together, these findings provide further evidence supporting Drosophila’s abilities to use celestial cues for visually guided navigation and course correction.

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Polarization vision in cuttlefish in a concealed communication channel?

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.199.9.2077 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 199 (9) ◽

pp. 2077-2084

Author(s):

N Shashar ◽

P Rutledge ◽

T Cronin

Keyword(s):

Polarized Light ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Polarization Sensitivity ◽

Polarization Vision ◽

Microscopical Examination ◽

Polarization Pattern ◽

Behavioral Experiments ◽

Marine Animals ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

Electron Microscopical

Polarization sensitivity is well documented in marine animals, but its function is not yet well understood. Of the cephalopods, squid and octopus are known to be sensitive to the orientation of polarization of incoming light. This sensitivity arises from the orthogonal orientation of neighboring photoreceptors. Electron microscopical examination of the retina of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L. revealed the same orthogonal structure, suggesting that cuttlefish are also sensitive to linearly polarized light. Viewing cuttlefish through an imaging polarized light analyzer revealed a prominent polarization pattern on the arms, around the eyes and on the forehead of the animals. The polarization pattern disappeared when individuals lay camouflaged on the bottom and also during extreme aggression display, attacks on prey, copulation and egg-laying behavior in females. In behavioral experiments, the responses of cuttlefish to their images reflected from a mirror changed when the polarization patterns of the reflected images were distorted. These results suggest that cuttlefish use polarization vision and display for intraspecific recognition and communication.

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No evidence for polarization sensitivity in the pigeon electroretinogram

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.198.2.325 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 198 (2) ◽

pp. 325-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

J J Vos Hzn ◽

M A J M Coemans ◽

J F W Nuboer

Keyword(s):

White Light ◽

Monochromatic Light ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Polarization Sensitivity ◽

Slow Rotation ◽

Unpolarized Light ◽

Linearly Polarized

The electroretinographical response to flashes of linearly polarized light directed at the pigeon's yellow field was compared with that to flashes of unpolarized light. This was carried out for white light and for monochromatic light of various wavelengths, including ultraviolet. In addition, responses to slow rotation of the E-vector of polarized light were measured. Neither the presence or absence of polarization, nor the orientation of the E-vector, influenced any of the electrophysiological variables that were monitored in these experiments.

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Novel Polarization Conversion Method of Linearly Polarized Light at Specific Incident Angle Based on Plane-Parallel Plate

Optik ◽

10.1016/j.ijleo.2019.05.039 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 188 ◽

pp. 187-192

Author(s):

Liangfa Xu ◽

Juan Liu ◽

Conghe Wang

Keyword(s):

Parallel Plate ◽

Incident Angle ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Polarization Conversion ◽

Plane Parallel ◽

Conversion Method ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

Plane Parallel Plate ◽

Specific Incident

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Spin Polarization in Normal Photoemission by Linearly Polarized Light from Non-Magnetic (110) Surfaces

EPL (Europhysics Letters) ◽

10.1209/0295-5075/28/8/012 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 609-614 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

J Henk ◽

R Feder

Keyword(s):

Spin Polarization ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Linearly Polarized

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Metasurface of Combined Semicircular Rings with Orthogonal Slit Pairs for Generation of Dual Vector Beams

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11071718 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1718

Author(s):

Qian Kong ◽

Manna Gu ◽

Xiangyu Zeng ◽

Rui Sun ◽

Yuqin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Domain ◽

Finite Difference Time Domain ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Orientation Angle ◽

Fdtd Simulation ◽

Dual Vector ◽

Vector Beams ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Difference Time

Manipulation of multichannel vector beams (VBs) with metasurfaces is an important topic and holds potential applications in information technology. In this paper, we propose a novel metasurface for the generation of dual VBs, which is composed of orthogonal slit pairs arranged on multiple groups of combined semicircular rings (CSRs). A group of CSRs include a right-shifted set and a left-shifted set of semicircular rings, and each set of semicircular rings has two halves of circles with different radii, sharing the same shifted center. Under the illumination of linearly polarized light, the two shifted sets of semicircular rings generate the two VBs at the shifted center positions on the observation plane. The slit units of each set are designed with independent rotation order and initial orientation angle. By adjusting the linear polarization of illumination, both two VBs with their orders and polarization states are independently controlled simultaneously. The principle and design are demonstrated by the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) simulation. The work is of significance for miniatured devices of VB generators and for related applications.

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Formation of half-period surface relief gratings in azobenzene containing polymer films

Applied Physics B ◽

10.1007/s00340-020-07500-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 126 (9) ◽

Author(s):

Joachim Jelken ◽

Carsten Henkel ◽

Svetlana Santer

Keyword(s):

Polymer Film ◽

Polymer Films ◽

Surface Relief ◽

Incident Light ◽

Glassy State ◽

Polarized Light ◽

Half Period ◽

Polarization Distribution ◽

Linearly Polarized ◽

Set Up

Abstract We study the peculiar response of photo-sensitive polymer films irradiated with a certain type of interference pattern where one interfering beam is S-polarized, while the second one is P-polarized. The polymer film, although in a glassy state, deforms following the local polarization distribution of the incident light, and a surface relief grating (SRG) appears whose period is half the optical one. All other types of interference patterns result in the matching of both periods. The topographical response is triggered by the alignment of photo-responsive azobenzene containing polymer side chains orthogonal to the local electrical field, resulting in a bulk birefringence grating (BBG). We investigate the process of dual grating formation (SRG and BBG) in a polymer film utilizing a dedicated set-up that combines probe beam diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, and permits acquiring in situ and in real-time information about changes in local topography and birefringence. We find that the SRG maxima appear at the positions of linearly polarized light (tilted by 45° relative to the grating vector), causing the formation of the half-period topography. This permits to inscribe symmetric and asymmetric topography gratings with sub-wavelength period, while changing only slightly the polarization of one of the interfering beams. We demonstrate an easy generation of sawtooth profiles (blazed gratings) with adjustable shape. With these results, we have taken a significant step in understanding the photo-induced deformation of azo-polymer films.

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