Relation between asymmetrical orbital angular momentum and irradiance-profile rotation for partially coherent beams

On the basis of the irradiance-moment formalism for describing general partially coherent beams, we investigate the relation between the spatial orientation of the transverse beam profile upon propagation and the asymmetrical part of its orbital angular momentum (OAM). More specifically, a necessary and sufficient condition (one-to-one correspondence) is shown between freely propagating non-rotating beams and vanishing asymmetrical OAM. As a corollary, it is obtained that any beam emerging from optical systems that transform a rotating field into a non-rotating beam exhibits vortex OAM only.     

Bessel–Gaussian beam-based orbital angular momentum holography

Orbital angular momentum(OAM), as a new degree of freedom, has recently been applied in holography technology.Due to the infinite helical mode index of OAM mode, a large number of holographic images can be reconstructed from an OAM-multiplexing hologram. However, the traditional design of an OAM hologram is constrained by the helical mode index of the selected OAM mode, for a larger helical mode index OAM mode has a bigger sampling distance, and the crosstalk is produced for different sampling d...     

Higher-order Poincaré sphere, stokes parameters, and the angular momentum of light

A higher-order Poincaré sphere and Stokes parameter representation of the higher-order states of polarization of vector vortex beams that includes radial and azimuthal polarized cylindrical vector beams is presented. The higher-order Poincaré sphere is constructed by naturally extending the Jones vector basis of plane wave polarization in terms of optical spin angular momentum to the total optical angular momentum that includes higher dimensional orbital angular momentum. The salient properties of this representation are illustrated by its ability to describe the higher-order modes of optical fiber waveguides, more exotic vector beams, and a higher-order Pancharatnam-Berry geometric phase.     

Measuring the fractional orbital angular momentum of a vortex light beam by cascaded Mach–Zehnder interferometers

We design an interferometric method for measuring the fractional orbital angular momentum of a vortex light beam by cascading Mach–Zehnder interferometers. The validity of this method is verified by simulation and theoretical analysis. We demonstrate the method experimentally for two stages of cascaded Mach–Zehnder interferometers, which can measure the fractional topological charge up to two. The experimental results agree with the theoretical results well. Since fractional orbital angular momentum may have a potential application in the field of quantum information, one can utilize the method to detect them easily and precisely.     

Generation and application of the twisted beam with orbital angular momentum

The twisted Laguerre-Gaussian beam was generated by transforming of Hermite-Gaussian beams through an optical system consisting of three rotated cylindrical lenses. The intensity distribution and phase structure of the twisted hollow beam were theoretically analyzed by using Collins diffraction integral. By utilizing the method of mode decomposition, the theory of transformation was analyzed. In the experiment, micro particles were trapped and rotated by this twisted beam.     

Erratum to “A simple analytical model of the angular momentum transformation in strongly focused light beams” by Aleksandr Ya. Bekshaev

The original version of the article was published in Central European Journal of Physics 8, 94–960 (2010), DOI: 10.2478/s11534-010-0011-2. Unfortunately, due to an editorial processing error the original version of this article contains mistakes in Eqs. (23) and (25). Here we display the corrected version of these equations.     

Orbital angular momentum density and spiral spectra of Lorentz–Gauss vortex beams passing through a single slit

Based on the Hermite–Gaussian expansion of the Lorentz distribution and the complex Gaussian expansion of the aperture function, an analytical expression of the Lorentz–Gauss vortex beam with one topological charge passing through a single slit is derived. By using the obtained analytical expressions, the properties of the Lorentz–Gauss vortex beam passing through a single slit are numerically demonstrated. According to the intensity distribution or the phase distribution of the Lorentz–Gauss vortex beam, one can judge whether the topological charge is positive or negative. The effects of the topological charge and three beam parameters on the orbital angular momentum density as well as the spiral spectra are systematically investigated respectively. The optimal choice for measuring the topological charge of the diffracted Lorentz–Gauss vortex beam is to make the single slit width wider than the waist of the Gaussian part.     

Quantal Poincaré-Cartan Integral Invariant for Field Theory

On the basis of the phase-space generating function of Green function for a system with a regular/singular Lagrangian, the quantal Poincaré-Cartan integral invariant (PCII) for field theory is derived. This PCII is equivalent to the quantal canonical equations. For this case in which the Jacobian of the transformation does not equalto unity, the quantal PCII can still be derived. This case is different from the quantal first Noether theorem. The quantal PCII connected with canonical equations and canonical transformation is also discussed.     

Relativistic chemical shielding: formally exact solutions for one—electron atoms of maximum total angular momentum for any principal quantum number

Analytical solutions have been derived for the chemical shieding of one-electron atoms in states of maximum total angular momentum (j = n -1/2). The variation of terms connecting states of different angular momentum is discussed as a function of the quantum numbers, k(= n), j and m the magnetic quantum number, and of Z, the atomic number.     

Poincaré's theorem and unitary transformations for classical and quantum systems

Poincaré's celebrated theorem on the nonexistence of analytical invariants of motion is extended to the case of a continuous spectrum to deal with large classical and quantum systems. It is shown that Poincaré's theorem applies to situations where there exist continuous sets of resonances. This condition is equivalent to the nonvanishing of the asymptotic collision operator as defined in modern kinetic theory. Typical examples are systems presenting relaxation processes or exhibiting unstable quantum levels. As the result of Poincaré's theorem, the unitary transformation, leading to a cyclic Hamiltonian in classical mechanics or to the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian operator in quantum mechanics, diverges. We obtain therefore a dynamical classification of large classical or quantum systems. This is of special interest for quantum systems as, historically, quantum mechanics has been formulated following closely the patterns of classical integrable systems. The well known results of Friedrichs concerning the coupling of discrete states with a continuum are recovered. However, the role of the collision operator suggests new ways of eliminating the divergence in the unitary transformation theory.     

Reply to the Comment by A.W. Thomas et al. on “The role of the orbital angular momentum in the proton spin”

The orbital angular momenta L^u and L^d of up- and down-quarks in the proton are estimated as functions of the energy scale as model independently as possible on the basis of Ji's angular-momentum sum rule. This analysis indicates that L ^u - L ^d is large and negative even at the low energy scale of nonperturbative QCD, in contrast to Thomas' similar analysis based on the refined cloudy bag model. We pursuit the origin of this apparent discrepancy and suggest that it may have a connection with the fundamental question of how to define quark orbital angular momenta in QCD.     

Poincaré-Dulac Normal Form Reduction for Unconditional Well-Posedness of the Periodic Cubic NLS

We implement an infinite iteration scheme of Poincaré-Dulac normal form reductions to establish an energy estimate on the one-dimensional cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) in ${C_tL^2(\mathbb{T})}$ C t L 2 ( T ) , without using any auxiliary function space. This allows us to construct weak solutions of NLS in ${C_tL^2(\mathbb{T})}$ C t L 2 ( T ) with initial data in ${L^2(\mathbb{T})}$ L 2 ( T ) as limits of classical solutions. As a consequence of our construction, we also prove unconditional well-posedness of NLS in ${H^s(\mathbb{T})}$ H s ( T ) for ${s \geq \frac{1}{6}}$ s ≥ 1 6 .     

Induced fractional zero-point angular momentum for charged particles of the Bohm–Aharonov system by means of a “spectator” magnetic field

An induced fractional zero-point angular momentum of charged particles by the Bohm–Aharonov (BA) vector potential is realized via a modified combined trap. It explores a “spectator” mechanism in this type of quantum effects: In the limit of the kinetic energy approaching one of its eigenvalues the BA vector potential alone cannot induce a fractional zero-point angular momentum at quantum mechanical level in the BA magnetic field-free region; But when there is a “spectator” magnetic field the BA vector potential induces a fractional zero-point angular momentum. The “spectator” does not contribute to such a fractional angular momentum, but plays essential role in guaranteeing non-trivial dynamics at quantum mechanical level in the required limit. This “spectator” mechanism is significant in investigating the BA effects and related topics in both aspects of theory and experiment.     

Limitations and guidelines for measuring the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses with a scanning Fabry–Pérot interferometer

The measurement of the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses using a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) is investigated. It is shown, numerically and experimentally, that the measured width critically depends on the pulse properties (such as pulse shape, pulse duration, frequency chirp and wavelength) and on the properties of the FPI (such as the mirror spacing and the mirror reflectivities). The obtained results are of particular importance if the spatial length of the short light pulses is comparable or even shorter than the distance between the FPI mirrors. The derived guideline indicate that the actual spectral width of the ultrashort light pulses is measured with good accuracy only if the finesse F≥40 and the round trip time of the light pulses inside the Fabry–Pérot interferometer is approximately one to three times the pulse duration. Received: 17 December 1999 / Revised version: 14 April 2000 / Published online: 5 July 2000