Phase-Resolved Holographic Imaging of Optical Vortex Dynamics in Laser Speckle

We investigate the dynamics of optical vortices in laser speckle fields using phase-resolved imaging. By interfering a speckled signal beam with a tilted reference beam in an off-axis holography geometry, we recover both the amplitude and absolute phase of the speckle relative to the phase of the reference field in a single shot. This allows us to identify vortex cores as intersections of real and imaginary zeros and to track their motion during free-space propagation. By scanning the imaging plane with sub-micron precision, we construct three-dimensional trajectories of vortices and quantify their statistical behavior. These measurements reveal how topological defects evolve in random optical fields, providing insight into universal vortex dynamics relevant to turbulence, quantum fluids, and wave chaos. Our results demonstrate the power of holographic phase-resolved speckle imaging as a platform for studying emergent phenomena in complex wave systems.