Related papers: Surface angular momentum of light beams
Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum, such as Laguerre-Gaussian beams, give rise to the violation of the standard dipolar selection rules during the interaction with matter yielding, in general, an exchange of angular momentum…
We review basic physics and novel types of optical angular momentum. We start with a theoretical overview of momentum and angular momentum properties of generic optical fields, and discuss methods for their experimental measurements. In…
Fundamental and applied concepts concerning the ability of light beams to carry a certain mechanical angular momentum with respect to the propagation axis are reviewed and discussed. Following issues are included: Historical reference;…
This paper analyzes the algebraic and physical properties of the spin and orbital angular momenta of light in the quantum mechanical framework. The consequences of the fact that these are not angular momenta in the quantum mechanical sense…
It is shown that the momentum density of free electromagnetic field splits into two parts. One has no contribution to the net momentum due to the transversality condition. The other yields all the momentum. The angular momentum that is…
A circularly polarized rotationally symmetric paraxial laser beams carries hbar angular momentum per photon as spin. Focussing the beam with a rotationally symmetric lens cannot change this angular momentum flux, yet the focussed beam must…
Recent developments in the understanding of optical angular momentum have resulted in many demonstrations of unusual optical phenomena, such as optical beams with orbital angular momentum and transverse spinning light. Here we detail novel…
A circularly polarized plane-wave is known to have no angular momentum when examined through Maxwell's equations. This, however, contradicts the experimentally observed facts, where finite segments of plane waves are known to be capable of…
While photons travel in a straight line at constant velocity in free-space, the intensity profile of structured light may be tailored for acceleration in any degree of freedom. Here we propose a simple approach to control the angular…
We provide a vivid demonstration of the mechanical effect of transverse spin momentum in an optical beam in free space. This component of the Poynting momentum was previously thought to be virtual, and unmeasurable. Here, its effect is…
We investigate in detail the focusing of a circularly polarized Laguerre-Gaussian laser beam ($\hbar \ell$ orbital angular momentum per photon; $\sigma=1/-1$ for left/right-handed polarization) by a high numerical aperture objective. The…
The expression for the total angular momentum carried by a laser optical vortex beam, splits, in the paraxial approximation, into two terms which seem to represent orbital and spin angular momentum respectively. There are, however, two very…
We derive exact expressions, in the form of Fourier integrals over the (k,w) domain, for the energy, momentum, and angular momentum of a light pulse propagating in free space. The angular momentum is seen to split naturally into two parts.…
The concept of angular momentum is ubiquitous to many areas of physics. In classical mechanics, a system may possess an angular momentum which can be either transverse (e.g., in a spinning wheel) or longitudinal (e.g., for a fluidic vortex)…
In light beams with circular or elliptic polarization, the transverse energy flow consists of the "spin" and "orbital" parts. Both of them can induce the orbital motion of microparticles suspended within the field of a light beam, and this…
We present generalized expressions to calculate the orbital angular momentum for invariant beams using scalars potentials. The solutions can be separated into transversal electric TE, transversal magnetic TM and transversal electromagnetic…
It is shown that the momentum density of free electromagnetic field splits into two parts. One has no contribution to the net momentum due to the transversality condition. The other yields all the momentum. The angular momentum that…
By means of the Helmholtz theorem on the decomposition of vector fields, the angular momentum of the classical electromagnetic field is decomposed, in a general and manifestly gauge invariant manner, into a spin component and an orbital…
Recently the spectacular result was derived quantum mechanically that the total angular momentum of photons in light beams with finite lateral extensions can have half-integer quantum numbers. In a circularly polarized Gauss light beam it…
For paraxial and non-paraxial light, numerous measures of electromagnetic attribute are expressible in terms of photon annihilation and creation. Accordingly, energy, angular momentum and chirality measures acquire a consistent…