Related papers: Helicity and Angular Momentum. A Symmetry based fr…
Two conditions on symmetries are identified as necessary for a linear scattering system to be able to rotate the linear polarisation of light: Lack of at least one mirror plane of symmetry and electromagnetic duality symmetry. Duality…
We demonstrate experimentally an optical process in which the spin angular momentum carried by a circularly polarized light beam is converted into orbital angular momentum, leading to the generation of helical modes with a wavefront…
Interaction of spin and intrinsic orbital angular momentum of light is observed, as evidenced by length-dependent rotations of both spatial patterns and optical polarization in a cylindrically-symmetric isotropic optical fiber. Such…
When light is transmitted through optically inhomogeneous and anisotropic media the spatial distribution of light can be modified according to its input polarization state. A complete analysis of this process, based on the paraxial…
Modern physics is largely devoted to study conservation laws, such as charge, energy, linear momentum or angular momentum, because they give us information about the symmetries of our universe. Here, we propose to add the relationship…
Optically-induced mechanical torque leading to the rotation of small objects requires the presence of absorption or breaking cylindrical symmetry of a scatterer. A spherical non-absorbing particle cannot rotate due to the conservation of…
We set forth a method to analyze the orbital angular momentum of a light field. Instead of using the canonical formalism for the conjugate pair angle-angular momentum, we model this latter variable by the superposition of two independent…
Understanding of light-matter interaction is a keystone in mastering classical and quantum optics. This paper gives an overview of the fundamental principles used in these two fields for description of light-matter interaction. By exploring…
The interaction between a quantum particle's spin angular momentum and its orbital angular momentum is ubiquitous in nature. In optics, the spin-orbit optical phenomenon is closely related with the light-matter interaction and has been of…
The semiclassical theory of light-matter interactions describes the interaction between a classical electromagnetic field with a quantum mechanical two-level system.We show that the quantum mechanical two-level system can be modeled by a…
The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is potentially interesting for astronomical study of rotating objects such as black holes, but the effect of reduced spatial coherence of astronomical light sources such as stars is largely…
The twist phase of random light represents a nontrivial two-point phase, endowing the field with orbital angular momentum. Although the mutual transition of the spin and orbit angular momenta of coherent light has been revealed, the…
Light carries spin and orbital angular momentum. These dynamical properties are determined by the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of light. Modern nano-optics, photonics, and plasmonics, tend to explore subwavelength scales and…
We demonstrate the Fourier relationship between angular position and angular momentum for a light mode. In particular we measure the distribution of orbital angular momentum states of light that has passed through an aperture and verify…
Structured light fields exploit spin and orbital angular momentum for precision manipulation, advanced imaging, and high-capacity communication. Orbital angular momentum coherent state beams interpolate between Hermite- and…
The deflection of light in the gravitational field of the Sun is one of the most fundamental consequences for general relativity as well as one of its classical tests first performed by Eddington a century ago. However, despite its center…
The hemispherical Mueller matrix map for light reflected from a plane-parallel planetary atmosphere is shown to obey several symmetry properties that provide a straightforward method to check their physical realizability. The mirror…
In a recent paper (arXiv:1106.4546), we introduced "dynamical dark matter," a new framework for dark-matter physics, and outlined its underlying theoretical principles and phenomenological possibilities. Unlike most traditional approaches…
Light scattering and spin-orbit angular momentum coupling phenomena from subwavelength objects, with electric and magnetic dipolar responses, are receiving an increasing interest. Under illumination by circularly polarized light, spin-orbit…
Electromagnetic waves carry energy as well as linear and angular momenta. When a light pulse is reflected from, transmitted through, or absorbed by a material medium, energy and momentum (both linear and angular) are generally exchanged,…