Electromagnetic angular momentum of quantized wavepackets in free space
Author
Mansuripur, M.Affiliation
James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, The University of ArizonaIssue Date
2023-10-05
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
SPIECitation
Masud Mansuripur, "Electromagnetic angular momentum of quantized wavepackets in free space," Proc. SPIE 12649, Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XX, 126490A (5 October 2023); doi: 10.1117/12.2675775Rights
© 2023 SPIE.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
A single electromagnetic plane-wave propagating in free space possesses neither spin nor orbital angular momentum. Both types of angular momentum arise from interference between pairs of plane-waves having the same temporal frequency ω but differing k-vectors k1 and k2. While it is fairly straightforward to evaluate a wavepacket’s spin and orbital angular momenta in the (k, ω) continuum by means of Fourier transformation, obtaining the same results by discretizing the (k, ω) space, then attempting to approach the continuum limit via an infinite enlargement of the spatial volume under consideration, is fraught with danger. © 2023 SPIE.Note
Immediate accessISSN
0277-786XISBN
978-151066512-5Version
Final Published Versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1117/12.2675775