abstract
- © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. We apply a differential creation operator to an integer order Bessel beam in order to generate novel nondiffracting structures. The resulting phase structure and orbital angular momentum are discussed in detail. We find the parameters that preserve the orbital angular momentum of the seed beam and show how to produce and control shape preserving vortex arrays. In analogy to the Poincaré sphere, our approach is used to develop an operator sphere connecting higher-order Bessel beams.