Angular momentum of light
arXiv:physics/0504078 · doi:10.1080/09500340512331326832
Abstract
By means of the Helmholtz theorem on the decomposition of vector fields, the angular momentum of the classical electromagnetic field is decomposed, in a general and manifestly gauge invariant manner, into a spin component and an orbital component. The method is applied to linearly and circularly polarized plane waves in their classical and quantum forms.
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