paper

Beams of electromagnetic radiation carrying angular momentum: The Riemann-Silberstein vector and the classical-quantum correspondence

arXiv:quant-ph/0511011 · doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2005.11.071

Abstract

All beams of electromagnetic radiation are made of photons. Therefore, it is important to find a precise relationship between the classical properties of the beam and the quantum characteristics of the photons that make a particular beam. It is shown that this relationship is best expressed in terms of the Riemann-Silberstein vector -- a complex combination of the electric and magnetic field vectors -- that plays the role of the photon wave function. The Whittaker representation of this vector in terms of a single complex function satisfying the wave equation greatly simplifies the analysis. Bessel beams, exact Laguerre-Gauss beams, and other related beams of electromagnetic radiation can be described in a unified fashion. The appropriate photon quantum numbers for these beams are identified. Special emphasis is put on the angular momentum of a single photon and its connection with the angular momentum of the beam.

To be published in the special issue of Optics Communications honoring Bruce Shore

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