Paraxial Light Beams with Angular Momentum
Abstract
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 Following issues are included: Historical reference; Angular momentum of a paraxial beam and its constituents; Spin angular momentum and paradoxes associated with it; Orbital angular momentum; Circularly-spiral beams: examples and methods of generation; Orbital angular momentum and the intensity moments; Symmetry breakdown and decomposition of the orbital angular momentum; Mechanical models of the vortex light beams; Mechanical action of the beam angular momentum; Rotational Doppler effect, its manifestation in the image rotation; Spectrum of helical harmonics and associated problems; Non-collinear rotational Doppler effect; Properties of a beam forcedly rotating around its own axis. Research prospects and ways of practical utilization of optical beams with angular momentum.
- Publication:
-
arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- January 2008
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.0801.2309
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0801.2309
- Bibcode:
- 2008arXiv0801.2309B
- Keywords:
-
- Physics - Optics;
- Physics - General Physics
- E-Print:
- 87 pages, 37 figures. This is a review originally published in Ukrainian Journal of Physics (UFZh. Ohlyady. V. 2, No 1, p. 73-113 (2005)). Besides translation, the text is essentially renewed and materials are updated. 10 Oct. 2020: misprints are corrected in Eqs. (20), (28), (29), 1st and 3rd Eqs. in p. 13. Labels of curves are corrected in Fig. 15