摘要
Structured light beams with extraordinary properties have revolutionized a wide range of applications such as optical manipulation, high-resolution imaging, classical and quantum communications, and so on. These beams can be cleverly shaped with tailored amplitudes, phases, polarizations, and coherences. With advancements in this field, an increasing number of light beams have been uncovered and investigated, including non-diffracting Bessel beams, self-accelerating Airy beams, and abruptly autofocusing circular Airy beams. Pearcey beams, as emerging stars in the field of structured light beams, have garnered considerable attention due to their autofocusing performance and inversion effect. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in Pearcey beams. We start with the introduction of the prototypical Pearcey beams including the coherent versions that were first proposed and observed in 2012, and their partially coherent counterparts that were reported in 2020. Besides, we describe a virtual source method for generating non-paraxial Pearcey beams. Then, we focus on the diverse Pearcey variants and their remarkable features, including the ring Pearcey, spectrum-engineered Pearcey, chirped Pearcey, and Pearcey pulse, which enrich the Pearcey family. Furthermore, we discuss the practical applications with the Pearcey beams, particularly in particle manipulation and topological charge measurement. These studies serve as a catalyst for our exploration into the realm of higher-dimensional manipulation and broader applications of Pearcey light fields.