Far-field detection of the dipole vortex.

The energy flow lines (field lines of the Poynting vector) of electric dipole radiation exhibit a vortex structure in the near field when the dipole moment of the source is in circular rotation. The spatial extend of this vortex is smaller than a wavelength and may not be observable by a measurement in the near field. We show that the rotation of the field lines close to the source affects the image of the dipole in the far field, and this opens the possibility for observation of this vortex by a measurement in the far field.