Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum
- 2 Vortex transformations and vortex dynamics in optical fields
- 3 Vector beams in free space
- 4 Optical beams with orbital angular momentum in nonlinear media
- 5 Ray optics, wave optics and quantum mechanics
- 6 Quantum formulation of angle and orbital angular momentum
- 7 Dynamical rotational frequency shift
- 8 Spin-orbit interactions of light in isotropic media
- 9 Quantum electrodynamics, angular momentum and chirality
- 10 Trapping of charged particles by Bessel beams
- 11 Theory of atoms in twisted light
- 12 An experimentalist's introduction to orbital angular momentum for quantum optics
- 13 Measurement of light's orbital angular momentum
- 14 Efficient generation of optical twisters using helico-conical beams
- 15 Self-similar modes of coherent diffusion with orbital angular momentum
- 16 Quantum entanglement of orbital angular momentum
- Index
- References
9 - Quantum electrodynamics, angular momentum and chirality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum
- 2 Vortex transformations and vortex dynamics in optical fields
- 3 Vector beams in free space
- 4 Optical beams with orbital angular momentum in nonlinear media
- 5 Ray optics, wave optics and quantum mechanics
- 6 Quantum formulation of angle and orbital angular momentum
- 7 Dynamical rotational frequency shift
- 8 Spin-orbit interactions of light in isotropic media
- 9 Quantum electrodynamics, angular momentum and chirality
- 10 Trapping of charged particles by Bessel beams
- 11 Theory of atoms in twisted light
- 12 An experimentalist's introduction to orbital angular momentum for quantum optics
- 13 Measurement of light's orbital angular momentum
- 14 Efficient generation of optical twisters using helico-conical beams
- 15 Self-similar modes of coherent diffusion with orbital angular momentum
- 16 Quantum entanglement of orbital angular momentum
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
When light engages with matter, the interactions that take place at the photon level are subject to the operation of powerful underlying symmetry laws. Such principles underpin the physics of even the simplest photon interactions, as for instance in the familiar Planck- Einstein relation E = hν for the absorption or emission of radiation. As emerged from Noether's work [1], this manifestation of overall conservation of energy is a direct consequence of a system invariance under temporal translation [2]. In connection with specific atomic photophysics, the term ‘selection rule’ is often used in connection with other space or time symmetries, these frequently being manifest as constraints over the conservation of quantized angular momentum. Obvious examples are the rules that govern the ‘allowed’ and ‘forbidden’ lines in atomic spectra, where the associated conditions over the geometric disposition and flow of charge emerge in the form of transition multipoles [3, 4].
The angular momentum attributes of light are most familiar in connection with the integer spin of the photon. Circularly polarized states have well-defined spin angular momentum along the direction of propagation [5], and numerous chiral or gyrotropic interactions exploit the differences in behaviour – observed in a material that is itself chirally constituted – between light beams of left- and right-handedness [6–8]. The principles are well known, and their applications have a surprisingly wide compass.
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- Information
- The Angular Momentum of Light , pp. 246 - 263Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012
References
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