Related papers: Optical helicity of interfering waves
The vast majority of physical objects we are dealing with are almost exclusively made of atoms. Due to their discrete level structure, single atoms have proved to be emitters of light which is incompatible with the classical description of…
The properties of the light, the Lorentz transformations and the relation mass-energy are introduced using the wave picture of the light and of the massive particles.
Quantum trapping potentials for ultracold gases change the landscape of classical properties of scattered light and matter. The atoms in a quantum many-body correlated phase of matter change the properties of light and vice versa. The…
We compare three attempts that have been made to decompose the angular momentum of the electromagnetic field into components of an "orbital" and "spin" nature. All three expressions are different and it appears, on the basis of classical…
The energy and momentum densities of the fields of a free electron in a plane electromagnetic wave include interference terms that are the classical version of the ``dressing'' of the electron the arises in a quantum analysis. The…
Polarization is one of light's most versatile degrees of freedom for both classical and quantum applications. The ability to measure light's state of polarization and changes therein is thus essential; this is the science of polarimetry. It…
A solution of the old problem raised by Tolman, Ehrenfest, Podolsky and Wheeler, concerning the lack of attraction of two light pencils "moving parallel", is proposed, considering that the light can be source of nonlinear gravitational…
The notion of the spin is shown to have two constituents, as exemplified by the spin of the electron. The first one is related to the form of the wave equation and determines the fermion or boson particle type. This implies the spin taking…
We review studies of the fluctuations of light made accessible by the invention of the laser and the strong interactions realized in cavity QED experiments. Photon antibunching advocating the discrete (particles), is contrasted with…
We construct the spin formalism in order to deal in a direct and natural way with processes involving transversity which are now of increasing popularity. The helicity formalism which is more appropriate for collision processes of definite…
Lorentz transformation of the reduced helicity density matrix for a massive spin 1/2 particle is investigated in the framework of relativistic quantum information theory for the first time. The corresponding helicity entropy is calculated,…
The stationary gravitational field of two identical counter-moving beams of pure radiation is found in full generality. The solution depends on an arbitrary function and a parameter which sets the scale of the energy density. Some of its…
We present the geometric optics expansion for circularly polarized gravitational waves on a curved spacetime background, to subleading order. We call spin optics to the subleading order geometric optics expansion, which involves modifying…
The interaction of an electromagnetic wave with spin (polarized light) and an electron is computed. Specifically the spin flip probability is computed using the Dirac equation for an electron trapped in a uniform magnetic field.
Kinetic helicity (hereafter helicity) is defined by the correlation between the velocity and the flow-aligned vorticity. Helicity, as well as energy, is an inviscid invariant of the hydrodynamic equations. In contrast to energy, a measure…
We investigate the coupling of the spin angular momentum of light beams with elliptical polarization to the spin degree of freedom of free electrons. It is shown that this coupling, which is of similar origin as the well-known spin-orbit…
The magneto-optic effects and electro-optic effects are the essential optic effects, although their theoretical explanations are not unified in the classical electromagnetic theory. Describing with the algebra of octonions, the…
The equations governing the interaction between incoherent light and electron-acoustic waves are presented. The modulational instability properties of the system are studied, and the effect of partially coherent light is discussed. It is…
We review the recent developments in the field of photonic lattices emphasizing their unique properties for controlling linear and nonlinear propagation of light. We draw some important links between optical lattices and photonic crystals…
Light refraction, i.e. the bending of the path of a light wave at the interface between two different dielectric media, is ubiquitous in optics. Refraction arises from the different speed of light and is unavoidable in continuous media…