Physicists propose method for braiding light

(Phys.org)—Physicists have proposed a way to braid three beams of light by guiding the beams along swirling, vortex-shaped defects in the optical medium through which the beams travel. The braided light would have an unusual "non-Abelian" nature, meaning that its phase would depend on the exact order in which the defects are wound around each other.