English

Photon Angular Momentum and Zero-Point Oscillations

Quantum Physics 2024-08-13 v1

Abstract

Radiation from a localized, oscillating charge distribution can have angular momentum that cannot be explained in classical electrodynamics. We consider the simplest example -- electric dipole radiation of a single photon -- and show that this angular momentum is attributable to zero-point oscillations in unexcited states of the dipole source.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2408.05844,
  title  = {Photon Angular Momentum and Zero-Point Oscillations},
  author = {Peter W. Milonni and G. Jordan Maclay},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.05844},
  year   = {2024}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T18:09:56.499Z