Characterizing optical chirality
Optics
2011-03-21 v2
Abstract
We examine the recently introduced measure of chirality of a monochromatic optical field [Y. Tang and A. E. Cohen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 163901 (2010)] using the momentum (plane-wave) representation and helicity basis. Our analysis clarifies the physical meaning of the measure of chirality and unveils its close relation to the polarization helicity, spin angular momentum, energy density, and Poynting energy flow. We derive the operators of the optical chirality and of the corresponding chiral momentum, which acquire remarkably simple forms in the helicity representation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1012.4176,
title = {Characterizing optical chirality},
author = {Konstantin Y. Bliokh and Franco Nori},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1012.4176},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
3 pages, no figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. A