Quantum theory of photonic vortices and quantum statistics of twisted photons
arXiv:2110.04705 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.105.023723
Abstract
The topological charge of a photonic vortex is an essential quantity in singular optics and the critical parameter to characterize the vorticity of twisted light. However, the definition of the photonic topological charge remains elusive. Here we put forth a theoretical formalism to provide a comprehensive treatment of photonic vortices. We introduce quantum operators for the photon current density and helicity current density based on the continuity equations from the paraxial Helmholtz equation. Our formalism allows us to introduce flow velocity and circulation for photonic currents in parallel to their counterparts in superfluids. The quantized circulation of the photonic currents is conserved during propagation and it gives an explicit definition of the photonic topological charge as the winding number of a photonic vortex. In particular, we predict helicity current generated pure helicity vortices, in which the photon current vanishes. Finally, we show an interesting effect that the quantum statistics of twisted photon pairs are essentially determined by their spin states.
arXiv commentWe corrected the observable photon OAM by including the polarization-frame connection. We also clarified the treatment of fractional topological charge: different paraxial modes generally have different radial profiles, and the omitted phase jump across cut lines must be included. All corrections are highlighted in red
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